Renewing the United Nations

Without а strong United Nations, it will be much harder to meet all these challenges. "The UN is flawed but indispensable institution that we have two choices with: weaken it by undermining it or trying to strengthen it by getting it to correct its flaws" (Richard Holbrooke). Strengthening the United Nations depends оn governments and especially оn their will­ingness to work with others - the private sector, non-governmental organizations and multilateral agencies - to find consensus solutions. The UN must act as а cat­alyst to stimulate action by others. And it must fully exploit the technologies, especially information technology. The Secretary-General recommends action in these four key areas:

· Identifying core strengths. The UN must continue to be the place where new standards of international conduct are hammered out and broad consensus on them is established.

· Networking for change. The UN must serve as а catalyst for collective action, both among its member-states and between them and the vibrant constellation of new non-state actors.

· Making digital connections. The UN must harness the power of technology to improve the fortunes of developing countries.

· Advancing the quiet revolution [22]. As an organization, the UN must become more effective, efficient and accessible to the world's peoples.

The Secretary-General has called on member-states to make the UN more of а results-based organization, both in its staffing and its allocation of resources. "When fully implemented, results-based budgeting will encourage greater efficiency and flexibil­ity, while at the same time enhancing transparency and the UN Secretariat's accountabil­ity to member-states," says the Millennium Report. The management of the Organization should focus on the impact of its work, rather than inputs and process. Placing people at the centre of the Organization means focusing on how аnу given programme benefits the people who are the intended target.

In 2005, the Secretary-General set out his vision in his report In Larger Freedom which mapped out organizational priorities including poverty alleviation, development, the prevention of conflict and human rights. He stated that "measures are intended to renew the confidence of member-states in the relevance and effectiveness of the Organization and revitalize the spirit and commitment of its staff".

The 2006 report, Investing in the UN: For A Stronger Organization Worldwide, deals with the management of the Secretariat and confirms that the UN needs a significant investment in how it recruits, develops and retains its people, how it procures goods and sources services, and how it manages and accounts for the taxpayer funds of all member-states in its overall pursuit of efficiency and results.

But though restructuring is under way and a lot has been done in order to improve its work and contribute to its effectiveness and efficiency, still some objectives haven't been achieved yet (e.g. the goal of holding the Secretariat accountable for "accomplishing missions" rather than merely "carrying out activities", coordination among agencies) and much remains to be done in this regard.

2. Give English equivalents for the following Russian expression:

1. решать задачи (проблемы)

2. игнорировать что-либо

3. создать агентства, отвечающие современным условиям

4. ставить чьи-либо интересы превыше чего-либо

5. необдуманный, поспешный

6. развенчать идею (понятие)

7. кадры на местах

8. стабильное будущее

9. вновь посвятить себя чему-либо

10. после

11. выработать согласованные решения

12. использовать возможности

13. приносить пользу людям

14. расставлять приоритеты

15. восстанавливать, воскрешать

16. совместное стремление добиться эффективности и результативности

3. Give Russian equivalents:

1. To place a greater premium on smth

2. To discharge a mandate

3. To echo throughout smth

4. Juicy career plum

5. The red tape at the UN

6. A more people-oriented United Nations

7. A result-based organization

8. Streamlined programme delivery

9. To act as а cat­alyst to stimulate action

10. A palace where standards are hammered out

11. The vibrant constellation of new non-state actors

12. To focus on the impact of its work, rather than inputs and process

13. Poverty alleviation

14. To renew confidence in the relevance

15. To be under way

4. Answer the following questions:

1. Why does the UN need reforms?

2. Is the word "reform" a simple notion?

3. What are calls for reform fed by?

4. Are the principles of the Charter relevant nowadays? Has anything changed since 1946?

5. What kind of renewal does the UN need?

6. "The UN is flawed but indispensable institution that we have two choices with: weaken it by undermining it or trying to strengthen it by getting it to correct its flaws". Comment on.

7. What does strengthening of the UN depend on?

8. Why would it be difficult to meet contemporary challenges without the UN?

9. How can the goals of the reforms be achieved?

10. What are the areas where reforms must be carried out?

11. Why is it important to place people at the centre of the Organization? And what does it mean?

12. What kind of a UN does Kofi Annan would like to create?

13. What were the current reports devoted to?

14. How are the results of the reforms evaluated? Are they enough?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29