The Index to Proceedings of the General Assembly is a bibliographic guide to the proceedings and documentation of the General Assembly. This issue covers the sixty-ninth session of the Assembly including its Main and ad hoc committees. The Index is prepared by the Dag Hammarskjeld Library, Department of Public Information, as one of the products of the United Nations Bibliographic Information System (UNBIS). The Index to Speeches presents reference information on all speeches presented to the General Assembly. It is subdivided into three sections: corporate names/countries, speakers and subjects.

How to respond effectively to humanitarian crises is one of the most pressing and seemingly intractable problems facing the United Nations. Martin Barber, for many years a senior UN official and with decades of humanitarian experience, here argues that the explanation for UN 'failures' or only partial successes lies not with any lack of idealism or good intentions but with the constraints placed on aid workers by ill-considered policies and poor practical application - officials are 'blinded by humanity'.Barber presents an inside story based on personal/hands-on/practical experience in Laos, Thailand, Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina and, finally, in Abu Dhabi where he advised the UAE government on its aid programme. He tells of internal struggles at head office and the challenges of working in the field. All the major UN activities - and headaches - are here, including refugee work, coordinating humanitarian aid, peacekeeping, the huge problem of 'de-mining', and the complex internal workings of the UN Secretariat.A personal narrative and lessons drawn from direct experience provide the frame for an examination of major questions concerning the future of humanitarian response - how effectively have international institutions discharged their responsibilities towards people affected by conflict? Specifically, how did the UN perform? And how might the UN better help such people in the 21st century? Barber analyses recent policy developments intended to improve the quality and effectiveness of the UN's work in humanitarian fields, and assesses the extent to which recent reforms are likely to make the UN a more effective partner for countries emerging from conflict. In the final chapter he highlights seven 'blind spots' whose significance has been consistently ignored or overlooked, and in each case suggests a radical new approach.

Part I of this report assesses trends and developments in regional trade and investment flows and policies in an attempt to provide the insights and information necessary to separate the cyclical from the structural aspects. Part II analyses the participation of Asia-Pacific economies in global and regional value chains. By observing how economies at different levels of development have integrated into supply chains at different speeds and to varying extents, we can cast light on those policies that influence and shape value chain participation, and hence influence future patterns of trade and investment. The particular features of participation in value chains also have an impact on the ability of countries to access foreign technology and build innovative capacity, which in turn influences structural change and future development options.

This annual report prepared by The Board provides a comprehensive account of the global drug situation, analyses trends in drug abuse and drug trafficking and suggests necessary remedial action. Divided into four parts, it covers the following topics: drugs and corruption, functioning of the international drug control system, analysis of the world situation and finally, a set of recommendations to Governments, the United Nations and other relevant international and regional organizations. A set of Annexes follows as well.

Electronic commerce (e-commerce) is rapidly transforming the way in which enterprises are interacting among each other as well as with consumers and governments. Despite important potential benefits, businesses and consumers in developing countries were for a long time slow to exploit e-commerce. As a result of changes in the evolving landscape for information and communications technologies (ICTs), this pattern is now changing, and e-commerce is growing rapidly in emerging markets and developing economies. Against this background, this publication revisits the potential opportunities and risks of e-commerce and examines how countries can benefit the most from the phenomenon in today's Information Society. Using official statistics and private sector data, it provides an up-to-date review of global and regional trends related to e-commerce in view of changes in the ICT landscape, focusing on developing countries while drawing lessons from developed countries.

In 1967, South West Africa -- which was controlled by the Republic of South Africa -- was the only remaining mandated territory from the old League of Nations that had not either gained its independence or come under trusteeship of the United Nations. The sparsely populated region became a center of international controversy and protest as it had come to be a symbol of colonialism and racism. In this study, Faye Carroll traces the twenty-year dispute between South Africa and the United Nations, carefully examining the legal, political, and moral issues involved. She also provides an introduction to the economic, political, and social conditions within South West Africa at the time.

The book delves into the exciting world of the UN with an aim to try and perceive the future of this World Body in the tumultuous times of the 21st Century. With an analytical eye towards the future, the book researches the question, 'Whether the UN, in times to come, will get further marginalized and doomed to irrelevance or will it eventually be scaled up to a status of indispensability.' The thrust of the book is to bring out very useful inputs on how the UN, which reflected the main political concerns, threats, perceptions and the distribution of power of the World War II victors in 1945, must now re-position and re-align itself in the current framework of threats, challenges, aspirations, power plays, economics and the security perceptions of the new world pegging order of the 21st Century.

Since the United Nations (U.N.) was established in 1945, the U.S. government, including many Members of Congress, has maintained an ongoing interest in the criteria and process for membership in the United Nations and its specialized agencies. The United Nations currently has 193 member states and two observer non-member statesthe Holy See (Vatican) and "Palestine." Each of the U.N. system's 15 specialized agencieswhich are independent international intergovernmental organizations with their own constitutions, rules, and budgetshave different criteria and processes for membership. This book highlights key steps in the process for attaining membership in the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It discusses the capacities associated with U.N. membership and observer status, as well as criteria for and implications of membership.

The International Law Commission was established in 1947 with a view to carrying out the responsibility of the General Assembly, under article 13(1)(a) of the Charter of the United Nations, to initiate studies and make recommendations for the purpose of ... encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification. Since its first session in 1949, the Commission has considered a wide-range of topics of international law and made a number of proposals for its codification and progressive development, some of which have served as the basis for the subsequent adoption of major multilateral treaties. The Yearbook of the International Law Commission contains the official records of the Commission and is an indispensable tool for the preservation of the legislative history of the documents emanating from the Commission, as well as for the teaching, study, dissemination and wider appreciation of the efforts undertaken by the Commission in the progressive development of international law and its codification. Volume II (Part One) reproduces the edited versions of the official documents considered by the Commission at the respective annual session.

The UN General Assembly has expressed concerns about the relatively large and growing portion of the UN budget spent on total compensation. The United States contributes 22 percent of the UN's regular budget. UN total compensation consists of salary, benefits, and allowances. Since its inception in 1945, the UN has based salaries for its professional employees on salaries for the U.S. civil service. This book examines similarities between UN and U.S. government benefits and allowances and compares their monetary values, and examines UN efforts to address concerns about the sustainability of total compensation costs.

The first purpose of the United Nations is "to maintain international peace and security." Among the chief methods employed to attain this end has been the condemnatory resolution, in which international outrage is expressed at the policies or actions of a given state. Here William W. Orbach undertakes to explore the nature of the United Nations and its role in international politics through an examination of the history of such resolutions, the reasons for condemnations, and the process by which they are enacted or rejected. He concludes that the United Nations is not an independent actor on the international stage but a microcosm of that stage, as such in a unique position to further international peace.

By some counts, Model United Nations (MUN) has become the single most popular extracurricular academic activity among high school students. More than two million high school and college students have assumed the roles of ambassador from real United Nations member countries, participated in spirited debate about the world's most pressing issues, and called, "Point of order, Mr. Chairman!" Now, in Coaching Winning Model United Nations Teams, Edward Mickolus and Joseph Brannan give MUN teachers and coaches the information they need to succeed. In this informative volume, the authors (MUN coaches themselves) provide detailed guidance for each step of the MUN path, from the first meeting in the teacher's classroom to the final days of an official MUN conference. Coaches will learn about the ins and outs of parliamentary procedure and the most effective ways to help their students draft position papers and resolutions. Most important, Mickolus and Brannan illustrate the many ways that teachers can inspire their students to take an active role in making the world a better place. By the time their students move on, MUN coaches will have instilled in them such important qualities as empathy, self-confidence, and grace under pressure. Coaching Model United Nations Teams is a fun, useful guide for teachers and coaches who are working to help develop tomorrow's leaders today. About the Author JOSEPH T. RANNAN is the faculty adviser to the George C. Marshall High School MUN team in Falls Church, Virginia. Before becoming a teacher, he served in the U.S. Navy, worked as a newspaper reporter, and was the assistant city manager for the city of Alexandria, Virginia, where he resides. DR. EDWARD MICKOLUS has written twenty books on international terrorist events and biographies of terrorists. As an undergraduate at Georgetown University, he led MUN teams to regional and national championships, and while completing his doctorate in political science, he founded and coached the Yale University MUN team and started the Yale MUN conferences. He lives in Dunn Loring, Virginia.

Members of Congress continue to demonstrate an ongoing interest in the efficiency and effectiveness of United Nations (U.N.) development activities, both in the context of U.N. reform and broader U.S. development and foreign assistance efforts. Thirty-two U.N. agencies, funds, programs, and offices play a role in development. These entities, collectively referred to as the U.N. development system (UNDS), are independent intergovernmental organisations with distinct mandates, rules, membership, and financial resources. They work to help countries achieve social and economic progress through a range of development activities, including program implementation, technical assistance, providing forums for intergovernmental co-operation, setting and facilitating international standards and norms, advocacy and awareness raising, and research and data collection. This book discusses the origins and evolving role of the UNDS and its perceived strengths and weaknesses, with a focus on the current UNDS structure, funding levels and trends.

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 judgements of national courts. Volume 148 reports on, among others, the Provisional Measures Order and Judgment of the International Court of Justice in Avena (No 2), the Judgment of the Australian New South Wales Court of Appeal in Zhang v. Jiang Zemin and the Decision of the French Court of Cassation in the Logicom Case.

In August 2009, the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) won a crushing victory over the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), thus bringing to an end over fifty years of one-party dominance. Around the world, the victory of the DPJ was seen as a radical break with Japan's past. However, this dramatic political shift was not as sudden as it appeared, but rather the culmination of a series of changes first set in motion in the early 1990s.The Evolution of Japan's Party System analyses the transition by examining both party politics and public policy. Arguing that these political changes were evolutionary rather than revolutionary, the essays in this volume discuss how older parties such as the LDP and the Japan Socialist Party failed to adapt to the new policy environment of the 1990s. Taken as a whole, The Evolution of Japan's Party System provides a unique look at party politics in Japan, bringing them into a comparative conversation that usually focuses on Europe and North America.

The idea that we should 'do something' to help those suffering in far-off places is the main impulse driving those who care about human rights. Yet from Kosovo to Iraq, military interventions have gone disastrously wrong. "The Thin Blue Line" describes how in the last twenty years humanitarianism has emerged as a multibillion-dollar industry that has played a leading role in defining humanitarian crises, and shaping the foreign policy of Western governments and the United Nations. Drawing on his own experience of working in over a dozen conflict and post-conflict zones, Foley shows how the growing influence of international law has been used to override the sovereignty of the poorest countries in the world.

Born in 1945, the United Nations came to life in the Arab world. It was there that the UN dealt with early diplomatic challenges that helped shape its institutions such as peacekeeping and political mediation. It was also there that the UN found itself trapped in, and sometimes part of, confounding geopolitical tensions in key international conflicts in the Cold War and post-Cold War periods, such as hostilities between Palestine and Iraq and between Libya and Syria. Much has changed over the past seven decades, but what has not changed is the central role played by the UN. This book's claim is that the UN is a constant site of struggle in the Arab world and equally that the Arab world serves as a location for the UN to define itself against the shifting politics of its age. Looking at the UN from the standpoint of the Arab world, this volume collects some of the finest scholars and practitioners writing about the potential and the problems of a UN that is framed by both the promises of its Charter and the contradictions of its member states. This is a landmark book-a close and informed study of the UN in the region that taught the organization how to do its many jobs.

When President George W. Bush launched an invasion of Iraq in March of 2003, he did so without the explicit approval of the Security Council. His father's administration, by contrast, carefully funneled statecraft through the United Nations and achieved Council authorization for the U.S.-led Gulf War in 1991. The history of American policy toward Iraq displays considerable variation in the extent to which policies were conducted through the UN and other international organizations.

In Channels of Power, Alexander Thompson surveys U.S. policy toward Iraq, starting with the Gulf War, continuing through the interwar years of sanctions and coercive disarmament, and concluding with the 2003 invasion and its long aftermath. He offers a framework for understanding why powerful states often work through international organizations when conducting coercive policies-and why they sometimes choose instead to work alone or with ad hoc coalitions. The conventional wisdom holds that because having legitimacy for their actions is important for normative reasons, states seek multilateral approval.

Channels of Power offers a rationalist alternative to these standard legitimation arguments, one based on the notion of strategic information transmission: When state actions are endorsed by an independent organization, this sends politically crucial information to the world community, both leaders and their publics, and results in greater international support.

As part of the ongoing and necessary effort to create a UN that is truly representative of all its members, this title attempts to present the African perspective far more clearly and persuasively than has previously been the case. The argument in the title can be summed up in this excerpt: "Africa and the West have engaged in a "dialogue of the deaf " at the UN and other international forums since the continent's "lost decade" of the 1980s. The dialogue runs as follows: Africans call for an annulment of what they see as an unpayable external debt of $290 billion and note that they have paid back $550 billion out of an initial debt of $540 billion between 1970 and 2002; the West continues to roll over the debt and offers periodic "debt relief" for an ailing African patient. Africans call for the West to meet aid targets of 0.7 per cent of Gross National Product (GNP) set as far back as 1970; the West responds by continuing to maintain average annual aid levels of about 0.3 per cent and to make persistent unmet promises to reach the target of 0.7 per cent. Finally, Africans call on the rich world to live up to its free trade principles by eliminating agricultural subsidies that prevent the continent from growing out of poverty; the West continues to maintain subsidies of over $311 billion that by 2001 had surpassed the entire economic strength of sub-Saharan Africa." This title is a contribution to African efforts to engage the UN to achieve these noble goals.

Do we need the United Nations? Where would the contemporary world be without its largest intergovernmental organization? And where could it be had the UN s member states and staff performed better? These fundamental questions are explored by the leading analyst of UN history and politics, Thomas G. Weiss, in this hard-hitting, authoritative book. While counterfactuals are often dismissed as academic contrivances, they can serve to focus the mind; and here, Weiss uses them to ably demonstrate the pluses and minuses of multilateral cooperation. He is not shy about UN achievements and failures drawn from its ideas and operations in its three substantive pillars of activities: international peace and security; human rights and humanitarian action; and sustainable development. But, he argues, the inward-looking and populist movements in electoral politics worldwide make robust multilateralism more not less compelling. The selection of Antonio Guterres as the ninth UN secretary-general should rekindle critical thinking about the potential for international cooperation. There is a desperate need to reinvigorate and update rather than jettison the United Nations in responding to threats from climate change to pandemics, from proliferation to terrorism. Weiss tells you why and how.

UN Contributions to Development Thinking and Practice is at once a history of the ideas and realities of international development, from the classical economists to the recent emphasis on human rights, and a history of the UN s role in shaping and implementing development paradigms over the last half century. The authors, all prominent in the field of development studies, argue that the UN s founding document, the UN Charter, is infused with the human values and human concerns that are at the center of the UN s thinking on economic and human development today. In the intervening period, the authors show how the UN s approach to development evolved from mainstream areas of economic development to include issues of employment, poverty reduction, fairer distribution of the benefits of growth, equality of men and women, child development, social justice, and environmental sustainability."

The relationship between populism and democracy is contested among scholars. While some propose that populism is inherently harmful for democracy because it is anti-pluralist and confrontational, others argue that populism can reinvigorate worn-out democracies in need of greater popular participation. In A Dynamic Theory of Populism in Power, Julio F. Carrion advances this debate by examining the empirical relationship between populism in power and democracy. Does populism in power always lead to regime change, that is, the demise of democracy? The answer is no. The impact of populism on democracy depends on the variety of populism in power: the worst outcomes in democratic governance are found under unconstrained populism. Carrion presents the permissive and productive conditions for why and how populism becomes unconstrained, as well as a dynamic theory of change that shows how the late victories of populists build on early ones, resulting in greater power asymmetries. A Dynamic Theory of Populism in Power provides an analysis of five Latin American populist presidencies, all located in the Andes. In four of them (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela), populism became unconstrained and regime change followed. In one case, Colombia, populism in power was successfully contained and democracy survived. The concluding chapter places the Andean cases in comparative perspective and discusses how unconstrained populism in other cases (Nicaragua and Hungary) also led to the end of electoral democracy. Where populism in power was constrained (Honduras and the United States), regime change did not materialize. Carrion advances a theory of populism in power that helps us understand how democracies transition into non-democracies. To that extent, the book illuminates the processes of democratic erosion in our time.