United Nations system organizations. Monetary and financial organizations of the United Nations system Independent United Nations agencies

international economic organizations of the UN system also include international monetary and financial structures. These entities, first of all, include the World Bank, which includes the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the International Development Association. The International Finance Corporation and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. A well-known UN financial organization is the International monetary fund.

IBRD - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development - was established by the decision of the United Nations Conference on Monetary and Financial Issues in 1944 in Bretton Woods. The bank began its activities in 1945. Initially, 28 countries signed the “Status of the Agreement on the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development”. But other countries could join the Bank if they were members of the IMF. In the late 90s, there were 180 member states of the IBRD. According to the Charter, each country wishing to become a member of the IBRD must become a subscriber of its capital, the size of which is determined by the Bank. Russia joined the IBRD and the IMF in 1992. Its contribution to the IBRD corresponds to the quota in the IMF and is 3% of the total capital of the Bank. The Russian quota of $ 33.3 million was paid in convertible currency in the amount of $ 33.3 million and in national currency - $ 299.9 million.

The purpose of the creation of the IBRD was to promote the reconstruction and development of the territories of those states that were its members, by encouraging investment for the implementation of production programs. But first, the Bank had to make sure that they could not receive the funds necessary for production purposes from other sources. An important condition for the functioning of the Bank is that decisions on granting loans must necessarily proceed only from economic considerations. With its financial resources, the Bank should contribute to the long-term balanced growth of international trade. When granting loans, IBRD is also required to pay due attention to the prospects of debt repayment. In addition to providing loans, the Bank provides a wide range of technical assistance services.

The main source of financing for the Bank's lending operations is contributions from member states. The Bank resorts to the use of borrowed funds from financial markets, as well as incoming payments to repay previously issued loans.

The Bank's governing bodies include the following structures:

The Board of Governors;

Executive Board of Directors, or Executive Board;

Development Committee;

Bank President.

The IBRD headquarters is located in Washington DC.

IDA - International Association Development - is an intergovernmental organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. It was established in 1960 as a branch of the MBRD. All countries - members of the IBRD can become its participants within the terms and conditions established by the IDA.

The International Development Association was established to promote economic development, increasing labor productivity and living standards of the population of developing countries.

Although IDA in many respects does not differ from the IBRD, since both organizations finance development projects, they have the same staff, nevertheless, it has its own specifics:

First, unlike the IBRD, which is funded by states and members, IDA's funding sources are predominantly contributions from donor countries, in the role of which are industrialized countries, and only partially in this process are developing countries.

Secondly, the specificity of IDA is that it provides interest-free loans. However, IDA loans are provided to the poorest and least creditworthy countries. When allocating loans, the scale of the country's territory is taken into account, the annual income of which per capita and the degree of effectiveness of the economic policy of its government. Only developing countries with an annual per capita income of less than $ 1,035 are eligible for IDA loans. Loans are available for 35-40 years, and repayment begins after a 10-year grace period.

IDA has the same leadership as the IBRD. The President, Governors, and Directors of IBRD hold similar positions at IDA. IDA is headquartered in Washington, DC.

IFC International Finance Corporation. It was established in 1956 as a branch of the MBRD. However, it is a separate legal entity and has its own funds that do not belong to the Bank. IFC members can only be IBRD member countries.

IFC Objectives:

Providing assistance in financing private enterprises that can promote development through capital investments without guarantees of reimbursement from the governments of their countries of location;

Using the opportunity to combine investments of local and foreign capital 9 advanced management methods;

Encouraging the inflow of private capital, both local and foreign, for investment in manufacturing enterprises in the countries - members of the Corporation.

The financial resources from which the IFC issues loans consist of subscription contributions to the authorized capital, from loans and grants from the IBRD, from attracted credit resources from other financial organizations. IFC also plays a prominent role in mobilizing additional capital for developing countries from private sources through co-financing of facilities, with the provision of loans, as well as through the placement of securities and the provision of guarantees.

The leading bodies of the IFC have the following structural divisions:

The Board of Governors;

Directorate;

The president.

The IFC headquarters is located in Washington DC. But IFC has branches, representative offices and advisory bureaus for the development of projects in many cities around the world - in London, Paris, Frankfurt am Main, Tokyo, etc.

MIG is the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Founded in 1988 as a subsidiary of MBRD. It has legal and financial independence and is considered a specialized agency of the UN system.

The objectives of the MIGA operation are as follows:

Encourage foreign investment in production needs, especially in developing countries, to complement the activities of other financial institutions of the World Bank Group;

Provide investors with guarantees for investments in developing countries against losses from non-commercial risks, i.e. provide insurance against political risk. These include expropriation or similar measures, bans on the export of currency, breach of treaties, war and civil unrest.

The main source of financing for MAIG operations is its authorized capital.

The governing bodies of MAIG consist of the following structures:

The Board of Governors, which develops the operational framework;

Director in charge of day-to-day activities;

President of MIGA (appointed at the suggestion of the President of the IBRD and conducts current affairs under the general supervision of the Directorate).

The IMF - International Monetary Fund - is an intergovernmental monetary organization with the status of a specialized UN agency. The IMF, like the World Bank, was created at the Allied International Monetary and Financial Conference in 1944 in Bretton Woods.

The IMF has the following official goals:

Conduct and implement cooperation between member countries on international monetary issues;

Prevent competitive depreciation of currencies, promote their stability;

Establish a multilateral system of payments and transfers for current transactions and strive to remove currency restrictions that impede the growth of world trade;

Provide loans to member countries to settle the balance of payments without taking measures that are destructive to prosperity at the national and international levels.

The Fund stipulates the provision of loans with certain requirements. First of all, from an IMF member wishing to get a loan, it is necessary to obtain assurances on how to solve their problems with payments. The point is that, when providing financial assistance, the Fund requires from the occupying country to introduce austerity regime, reform tax policy, reduce budget spending by freezing the wages of government workers and employees, reduce subsidies, cut investment programs and carry out other similar measures. At the same time, since the Fund assumes that the funds at its disposal exist for all members of this organization, the borrowing country will return it as soon as its payment problems are resolved, so as not to restrict access to this currency for other members of the Fund. ...

Due to the fact that the IMF is organized on the principle of a joint-stock company, the number of votes of the participating countries in making decisions is determined in proportion to their share in the capital. In 1993, the United States accounted for 18.2% of the vote, Great Britain - 5.1, Germany - 5.5, France - 5.1, Italy - 3.1, Japan - 5.6, Canada - 2.9% ... These figures indicate that the United States and Western European countries have full control over the decision-making process in the IMF.

The supreme governing body of the Fund is the Board of Governors, which includes representatives of all member countries of this organization. The operational activities of the Fund are directed by a directorate consisting of 22 people.

The central place among international organizations is occupied by the United Nations (UN).

The United Nations system is made up of principal and subsidiary bodies, specialized organizations and agencies, and autonomous organizations that are an integral part of the UN system. The main organs are: the General Assembly (GA); Security Council (SB); International Court of Justice and Registry. Subsidiary bodies as may be necessary are established in accordance with the Charter.

The UN system includes a number of programs, councils and commissions that carry out their functions.

Consider the internal structure of the international economic organizations of the UN system.

The General Assembly is its main body. She is authorized to resolve any issues within the framework of the Charter of the organization. The General Assembly adopts resolutions which, although not binding on its members, still have a noticeable impact on world politics and the development of international law. During its existence, 10 thousand resolutions have been adopted. The General Assembly finally approves all international conventions on economic issues. In its structure, economic problems are dealt with:

The Committee on Economic and Financial Affairs, which develops resolutions for the plenary meetings of the General Assembly;
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law - UNCIT-RAL, which deals with the harmonization and unification of legal norms in international trade;
Commission on international lawworking on the development and codification of international law;
Investment Committee, which assists in the placement of investments from funds controlled by the UN.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the most important UN body responsible for the economic, social, cultural and humanitarian aspects of UN policy.

The functions of ECOSOC include:

research and preparation of reports on international issues in the field of economic and social spheres, culture, education, health and presentation of recommendations on these issues to the General Assembly, members of the Organization and interested specialized agencies;
discussion of international economic and social problems of a global and cross-sectoral nature and the development of policy recommendations on these problems for member states and the UN system as a whole;
monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the overall policy strategy and priorities set by the General Assembly in the economic, social and related fields;
ensuring harmonization and consistent practical operational implementation in an integrated manner of relevant policy decisions and recommendations adopted at UN conferences and other forums within the UN system, after their approval by the Assembly and / or ECOSOC;
ensuring overall coordination of the activities of the organizations of the UN system in the economic, social and related fields in order to implement the priorities established by the General Assembly for the system as a whole;
undertaking comprehensive operational policy reviews across the UN system.

ECOSOC has commissions, committees, special groups that deal with economic issues... It:

six functional commissions and subcommissions - social development, drug control, science and technology for development, sustainable development, statistics, transnational corporations;
five regional commissions - Europe, Asia and the Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Western Asia;
two standing committees - for programs and coordination, for immediate organizations;
seven expert bodies - the Planning Development Committee, the Ad Hoc Group of Experts on International Cooperation in Taxation, the Committees on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on National Resources, on New and Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Use and for development, as well as meetings of experts on public administration and finance.

The objectives of the regional commissions are to study the economic and technological problems of the respective regions of the world, develop measures and means to assist the economic and social development of regional members by coordinating their actions and pursuing a coordinated policy aimed at solving the cardinal tasks of developing economic sectors and intraregional trade.

In addition to the direct organs of the UN, its system includes specialized agencies and intergovernmental organizations, including:

uN funds and programs;
specialized agencies of the United Nations;
autonomous organizations associated with the UN. Let's dwell on the most important organizations the first group.

1. The Investment Development Fund assists developing countries by complementing existing funding sources with aid and loans. The fund's resources come from voluntary contributions and are estimated at $ 40 million.
2. The PLO Development Program (UNDP) is the largest organization in the UN system, funding diversified economic and technical assistance. Its resources are estimated at $ 1 billion and are constantly being replenished by donor countries, which include most of the developed and large developing countries. UNDP addresses key aspects of sustainable development and key global problems: poverty eradication, environmental restoration, employment, etc. It organizes global forums on these issues, such as the Forum on the Environment (Rio de Janeiro, 1992), on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), on Social Development (Copenhagen, 1995) ... The program currently covers over 150 countries with over 6,500 projects.
3. OOP program on environment (UNEP) maintains constant environmental monitoring and is responsible for coordinating all international projects in this area. Its activities are aimed at solving global environmental problems.
4. The World Food Program (WFP) coordinates the provision of international food aid in emergencies. WFP's budget is over $ 1.2 billion and is formed mainly by contributions from the US ($ 500 million), the EU ($ 235 million) and other developed countries.

Among the specialized organizations associated with the UN, the following can be distinguished.

The World Intellectual Property Organization (WO-IP) brings together the efforts of 18 intergovernmental organizations to protect intellectual property.
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) unites 168 countries to promote the introduction of new industrial technologies, the industrialization of developing, especially African countries, and the provision of technical assistance. UNIDO has established an Industrial and Technological Information Bank and a scientific and technical information exchange system. A significant part of the information arrays is available on the Internet at www.unido.org. All UN organizations are sources of free information on the Internet. Their addresses almost always match the abbreviation.
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) promotes investment in agriculture, transmission the latest technologies developing countries, agrarian reforms. On the website www.fao.org. there is information about the agro-industrial complex of all countries.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) provides loans to agriculture in developing countries.
The Universal Postal Union (UPU) is the oldest organization in the UN system, established in 1865. It is engaged in the development and modernization of postal services.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) coordinates international efforts in the development of meteorological observations.
The World Health Organization (WHO) brings together 190 countries to tackle human health problems.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) - was created back in 1919 according to the Versailles Treaty, it includes 171 countries. ILO developed International labor Code... She deals with problems of employment and growth of living standards of the population, social and economic reforms in the world of work.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is one of the most authoritative international organizations. Deals with the development of international cooperation in the fields of information, knowledge, culture, communications, etc.

Among the autonomous organizations associated with the UN, we note the International Agency for atomic energy (IAEA), whose functions include:

encouraging and promoting the development of nuclear energy and the practical application of atomic energy for peaceful purposes, as well as research in this area;
provision of materials, services, equipment and technical means in order to meet the needs of scientific research in the field of atomic energy and its practical use for peaceful purposes;
promoting the exchange of scientific and technical information;
encouraging the exchange of scientists and specialists and their training.

Other organizations of the UN system to one degree or another were considered in other sections of the textbook, in particular, those devoted to the regulation of trade and financial international relations.

UN Specialized Agencies are independent international organizations created on the basis of international treaties with broad international responsibility in the economic, social, culture, education, health care and other similar areas and related to the UN through ECOSOC by special international agreements. Such agreements are subject to approval by the UN General Assembly. Under the UN Charter, the General Assembly and ECOSOC have certain rights in relation to the UN specialized agencies. For example, the General Assembly reviews and approves any financial and budgetary agreements with them, reviews their administrative budgets in order to provide recommendations to stakeholders (paragraph 3 of Art. 17); ECOSOC is authorized to coordinate the activities of UN specialized agencies through consultations with them and recommendations, recommendations to the General Assembly and the UN member states (paragraph 2 of article 63), to take appropriate measures to receive regular reports from specialized agencies (paragraph 1 of article 64), hold events for the participation of representatives of these institutions without the right to vote in the discussion of issues of the Council or in the commissions created by it, as well as for the participation of representatives of the Council in the discussion of issues in these institutions (Article 70).

In the legal status, the UN specialized agencies are characterized by the following features: 1) contractual basis of activity; 2) broad international responsibility as defined in the UN Charter; 3) the specialized nature of activities in the socio-economic and humanitarian spheres; 4) communication with the UN. This complex of legal factors predetermines the allocation of UN specialized agencies into a special group of international organizations.

These international organizations can be divided into three groups according to their field of activity. The first is formed by specialized UN agencies of an economic nature, that is, those that function in the field of international trade, finance, transport and communications. These include: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development; International Monetary Fund; International Finance Corporation; International Development Association (IDA); International Investment Guarantee Agency (IAIG); International Center Investment Dispute Resolution (ICSID); Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO1); International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD); International Maritime Organization (IMO); International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); The Universal Postal Union (UPU), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU); The World Meteorological Organization (WMO); United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

The second group includes specialized UN agencies of a social nature - the International Labor Organization and the World Health Organization.

The third group of specialized agencies is formed by cultural and humanitarian organizations: the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and the World Tourism Organization.

Let's consider the organizational and legal mechanism of the activities of some specialized UN agencies.

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development Created on December 27, 1945, when 28 states signed an agreement developed at the United Nations Conference on Monetary and Financial Issues held in Bretton Woods (USA) in 1944.

Only members of the International Monetary Fund can be members of the IBRD. As of May 1, 2009, 185 countries, including Ukraine, were members of the IBRD.

IBRD Objectives: To promote the reconstruction and development of the territories of the Member States by encouraging investment for productive purposes (in areas such as agriculture and rural development, energy, highways and railways, ports, telecommunications, education, health, family planning and nutrition ); encourage private foreign investment and, in the event of difficulties in obtaining private capital, supplement it with loans for production purposes; promote long-term balanced growth of international trade and maintenance of balance of payments of member states.

MBRD finances lending operations primarily from its borrowed funds, which the Bank obtains in world markets, as well as retained earnings and through payments in repayment of loans provided. Loans are provided to the IBRD member states, their political-territorial units and private commercial structures on their territory. In addition to providing loans, the Bank provides a wide range of technical assistance services. The interest on loans is set according to the value of loans received by IBRD in the international capital markets. The recipient states are obliged to comply with the Bank's recommendations, provide it with reports on the use of loans and the necessary information.

The structure of the IBRD includes the Board of Governors (supreme body), executive directors (executive body), committees. The working language is English. The IBRD is headed by the President, who is elected by the Executive Directors for a term of five years. The IBRD is located in Washington (USA), there are also branches in Paris and Tokyo ..

It should be noted that the IBRD is a key institution of the World Bank Group, which also includes IFC, IDA, ICSID and MIG. The goal of the World Bank is to encourage the economic and social development of less developed UN members by providing them with financial and advisory assistance and assistance in training. The structural divisions of the World Bank are independent legal entities, which, however, work for one purpose and under the leadership of one administrative system.

International Monetary Fund acts on the basis of an agreement developed in parallel with the IBRD Agreement at the Bretton Woods Conference of 1944. The IMF began to function on December 27, 1945, when the agreement on its establishment entered into force.

The IMF has the following objectives: to coordinate the monetary and financial policies of the member states and to provide them with loans (short -, medium - and partially long-term) to settle the balance of payments and maintain exchange rates. The Fund also seeks to promote international monetary cooperation and trade expansion.

The Fund has at its disposal a pool (from the English pool - a common pot) of financial resources provided to member states for the implementation of the program to eliminate the balance of payments deficit temporarily and on certain conditions.

Structurally, the IMF consists of a Board of Governors (supreme body), an Executive Board consisting of a managing director and 24 executive directors, a Secretariat. The Managing Director is the chief executive officer of the Foundation. In the IMF, as in the IBRD, decisions are made on the basis of a system of weighted votes. Each member state of the Fund and the Bank has a number of votes proportional to its contribution to the financial resources of these UN specialized agencies, which ultimately reflects its share in the world economy. IMF Working Speech - English. The location of the IMF headquarters is Washington (USA), offices - Paris and Geneva.

The International Labour Organization was created in 1919 by the Treaty of Versailles as an autonomous institution, associated with the League of Nations. An agreement establishing a link between the ILO and the UN was approved on December 14, 1946. Thus, the ILO is the first specialized agency associated with the United Nations. As of May 1, 2009, the ILO included 182 states. Ukraine is a member of the ILO since 1954. Along with governments, workers represented by trade unions and employers (entrepreneurs) are represented in the ILO.

Objectives of the ILO: To promote social justice for all workers; develop international politics and programs aimed at improving working and living conditions; to set international labor standards to guide national authorities in implementing relevant policies; implement an extensive program of technical cooperation to assist Governments in effectively putting such policies into practice; provide training and education and conduct research work to facilitate the success of these efforts.

One of the most important activities of the ILO is the development and adoption of conventions and recommendations. During its existence, the ILO has adopted more than 180 conventions (the 2007 Convention on Labor in the Fishing Sector - 188th in a row and the latest as of January 1, 2010) and about 200 recommendations. These documents establish international standards in the field of labor, employment and vocational training, working conditions, social security, safety and labor protection. Ukraine has ratified over 50 ILO conventions.

Another important activity of the ILO is the provision of expert advice and technical assistance on issues related to labor and social policy.

The structure of the ILO includes the International Labor Conference (supreme body); Administrative Council; International Labor Office (ILO), which is the secretariat of the ILO. The working languages \u200b\u200bof the MNP are English, French and Spanish. The seat of the ILO is Geneva.

Since June 1, 1996, an ILO office has been operating in Kiev. Similar offices also operate in the capitals of other member states.

There are two international organizations, whose activities are rather specialized, but they are not part of the UN specialized agencies. These are the International Atomic Energy Agency (MATATE) and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).

International Atomic Energy Agency - an autonomous intergovernmental organization created under the auspices of the UN. The MATATE charter was adopted on October 26, 1956 and entered into force on July 29, 1957.

MATATE is the only universal international organization for the peaceful uses of atomic energy. As of May 1, 2009, 146 states were members of the Agency.

According to the MATATE Statute, the Agency's objectives are: to achieve faster and wider use of atomic energy to maintain peace, health and prosperity throughout the world; ensuring, as far as possible, that assistance which is provided to them, either at his request, or under his supervision or control, is not used in such a way as to contribute to any military purpose.

MATATE encourages and guides the development and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, sets standards nuclear safety, assists Member States through technical cooperation and promotes the exchange of scientific and technical information on nuclear energy.

Within the framework of MATATE, a versatile and efficient system control (guarantees) in order to prevent the use nuclear materials and equipment intended for peaceful activities for military needs. This field control is carried out by MATATE inspectors. Non-nuclear states participating in the Non-Proliferation Treaty nuclear weapons 1968, must conclude an agreement with the Agency to control the peaceful nuclear activities of these states. After joining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1994, Ukraine entered into such an agreement with MATATE. More than 900 nuclear installations worldwide are under Agency control. Nuclear powers such as Britain, China, Russia, the United States and France have voluntarily placed some peaceful nuclear installations under MATATE control.

MATATE consists of the General Conference (supreme body), the Board of Governors (executive body), the Scientific Advisory Committee and the Secretariat. The headquarters of MATATE are located in Vienna (Austria).

The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade is a multilateral agreement, the basis of which is a set of legal rules governing trade relations between the participating States, as well as an international organization for negotiations and consultations on trade issues. The agreement was signed in Geneva on October 30, 1947 and entered into force on January 1, 1948.

On January 1, 1995, 128 states were full members of the GATT; even more states took part in various forms of cooperation with the GATT. U1995 GATT was renamed the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The main goal of the GATT - This is the liberalization of world trade and setting it on a stable basis, promoting this economic growth and development, improving the well-being of the peoples of the world.

The basic principles of the GATT boil down to the fact that trade should be carried out on a non-discriminatory basis (the principle of "most favored nation"); domestic industry should be protected only through customs tariffs, and not quantitative restrictions and other measures; tariffs must be reduced through multilateral negotiations and cannot be increased subsequently; member states should consult among themselves with a view to solving trade problems.

In 1963, the main issue in the activities of the GATT was the reduction of customs tariffs. As a result of five rounds of negotiations, mutual concessions of the participants were agreed on to reduce customs tariffs and measures to reduce and regulate non-tariff trade barriers. In 1964-1967, the 6th round of negotiations (Kennedy round) was held. In September 1973, in Tokyo, the GATT member countries adopted a declaration that proclaimed the beginning of the 7th round of negotiations (Tokyo round). In 1986, in Punta del Este (Uruguay), the Uruguay round of multilateral trade negotiations within the framework of the GATT was launched, which ended in 1994 with the signing of an agreement on the creation on the basis of the GATT from January 1, 1995 of a new international organization - the World trade organization (WTO).

The supreme body of the GATT was the Session of the Contracting Parties (States Parties), which was held annually. GATT decisions were usually taken by consensus. If a vote was taken, each party had one vote. The Council of Representatives, the operational governing body of the GATT, operated between sessions. The seat of the GATT Secretariat is Geneva.

In connection with the creation of the WTO on the basis of the GATT, the structure of the new organization has undergone certain changes in accordance with the Agreement on the Establishment of the WTO in 1994.

United Nations - is the largest - universal in terms of the range of problems under consideration and worldwide in territorial coverage.

The name was proposed during World War II by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Created by 50 countries on October 24, 1945, The UN united 191 countries by 2005.

In accordance with the UN Charter, its main objectives are:

maintenance of international peace and security;
development of friendly relations between nations based on respect for the principle of equality and self-determination of peoples;
cooperation in resolving international issues economic, social, cultural and humanitarian character and respect for human rights;
coordination of actions of nations in achieving common goals.

The basic principles of the UN: sovereign equality of all members, good faith in the fulfillment of obligations assumed, peaceful resolution of international disputes, refraining from the threat of force. The UN Charter does not give the right to interfere in matters within the internal competence of a particular state.

The UN system has a complex organizational structure:

The main bodies of the UN (the UN itself).
UN programs and bodies.
Specialized agencies and other independent organizations within the UN system.
Other organizations, committees and related bodies.
Organizations outside the UN system, but linked to it by cooperation agreements.

UN bodies

The Articles of Association established six principal organs of the United Nations: General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, international Court, Secretariat.

General Assembly (GA) is the main deliberative body of the UN. She consists of representatives from all member countrieswith one vote. Decisions on issues of peace and security, admission of new members, budget problems are made by a two-thirds majority. For other questions, a simple majority is sufficient. Sessions of the General Assembly are held annually, usually in September. Each time, a new chairperson, 21 vice-chairmen, chairpersons of the six main committees of the Assembly are elected. The first committee deals with disarmament and international security, the second with economics and finance, the third with social and humanitarian issues, the fourth with special political issues and decolonization, the fifth with administrative and budgetary issues, and the sixth with legal issues. The Assembly is chaired by representatives of African, Asian, Eastern European, Latin American (including the Caribbean) and Western European states. GA decisions are not legally binding. They express world public opinion on a particular issue.

Security Council (Security Council) is responsible for maintenance of international peace... It investigates and recommends methods for resolving disputes, including calling on UN members to apply economic sanctions to prevent aggression; takes military action against the aggressor; plans to regulate weapons; recommends the admission of new members; carries out guardianship in strategic areas. The Council consists of five permanent members - China, France, the Russian Federation (successor to the USSR), Great Britain and the United States of America - and ten members elected by the General Assembly for a two-year term. A decision on procedural issues is considered adopted if at least 9 out of 15 votes (two thirds) vote for it. When voting on matters of substance, it is necessary that all five permanent members of the Security Council vote out of 9 votes in favor - the rule of "unanimity of the great powers."

If the permanent member does not agree with the decision, then he can veto (ban). If the permanent member does not want to block the decision, then she can abstain from voting.

Economic and Social Council coordinates Relevant matters and specialized agencies and institutions known as the "family" of UN agencies. These bodies are associated with the UN by special agreements, submit reports to the Economic and Social Council and (or) the General Assembly.

The ECOSOC subsidiary mechanism includes:

nine functional commissions (Commission for Social Development, etc.);
five regional commissions (Economic Commission for Africa, etc.);
four standing committees: the Committee for Program and Coordination, the Commission on Human Settlements, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations, the Committee for Negotiating with Intergovernmental Organizations;
a number of expert bodies;
executive committees and councils of various UN bodies: UN Development Program, World Food Program, etc.

Guardianship council monitors the trust territories and promotes the development of their self-government. The Council consists of five permanent members of the Security Council. In 1994, the Security Council terminated the Trusteeship Agreement, since all 11 originally Trust Territories gained political independence or joined neighboring states.

international Courtbased in The Hague, Netherlands, resolves legal disputes between states that are parties to its Statute, which automatically include all UN members. Individuals cannot apply to the International Court of Justice. According to the Statute (provision on rights and obligations), the Court uses international conventions; international custom as evidence of general practice; general principles of law recognized by nations; court decisions the most qualified specialists different countries... The court consists of 15 judges, elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council, who vote independently. They are elected based on qualifications, not citizenship. There cannot be two citizens from the same country in the composition of the Court.

UN Secretariat has the most diverse functions. It is a permanent body that carries out the entire document flow, including translations from one language into another, organizing international conferences, communicating with the press, etc. The Secretariat staff numbers about 9000 people from around the world. The UN Secretary General - the chief administrative officer - is appointed by the General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council for a five-year term and can be re-elected for a new term. Kofi Annan (Ghana) took office on January 1, 1997. On January 1, 2007, the new Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon (former head of the South Korean Foreign Ministry), took office. He spoke in favor of reforming the UN for the sake of the future of this organization. The authority of the Secretary-General is essential for the implementation of preventive diplomacy in order to prevent the emergence of international conflicts... All staff of the Secretariat have the status of international civil servants and take the oath, undertaking not to comply with instructions issued by any states or organizations other than the UN.

UN budget

The UN Regular Budget, excluding UN Specialized Agencies and Programs, is approved by the GA for a two-year period. The main source of funds are member State contributionswhich are calculated based on the country's solvency, in particular by criteria such as share in and per country. The scale of assessment of contributions established by the Assembly is subject to change from 25% of the budget to 0.001%... Shared contributions to the budget are: USA - 25%, Japan - 18%, Germany - 9.6%, France - 6.5%, Italy - 5.4%, Great Britain - 5.1%, RF - 2.9% , Spain - 2.6%, Ukraine - 1.7%, China - 0.9%. States that are not members of the UN, but participate in a number of its activities, can participate in the costs of the UN in the following ratio: Switzerland - 1.2%, Vatican - 0.001%. The revenue side of the budget hovers on average around 2.5 billion US dollars. Of the 13 expenditure items, more than 50% of expenditures are for general policy implementation, leadership and coordination; general support and support service; regional development cooperation.

UN programs

However, the UN “family” or UN system is broader. It covers 15 institutions and several programs and bodies... These are the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), and such a specialized organization as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). These bodies are associated with the UN by special agreements, submit reports to the Economic and Social Council and (or) the General Assembly. They have their own budgets and governing bodies.

UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It was established in 1964 as the main body of the GA on these issues, primarily to accelerate trade and economic development, which, having gained political independence, have significant problems in self-assertion in world markets. UNCTAD has 188 member States... RF and other countries are members of this organization. The annual operational budget funded from the UN regular budget is about $ 50 million. The headquarters is located in Geneva (Switzerland).

Organizational structure of UNCTAD

UNCTAD conference - the highest governing body. Conference sessions are held every four years at ministerial level to define the main lines of work.

Trade and Development Board - an executive body that ensures the continuity of work in the period between sessions. Working Groups on Medium Term Planning and Program Financing. Joint advisory group on the activities of the International Trade Center UNCTAD - WTO.

Standing committees and temporary working groups... Four Standing Committees have been established: Commodities; to reduce poverty; on economic cooperation between developed countries; on development, as well as a special committee on preferences and an intergovernmental group of experts on restrictive business practices.

Secretariat is part of the UN Secretariat. It includes services for the coordination of policy and external relations, nine departments (commodities, service development and trade efficiency, economic cooperation between developing countries and special programs, global interdependence, and, science and technology, least developed countries, program management and operational services) and joint entities working with the regional commissions. The secretariat serves two ECOSOC subsidiary bodies - The Commission on International Investment and Transnational Corporations and the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.

Under the auspices of UNCTAD, a number of international commodity agreements have been concluded, research groups on commodities have been established with the participation of producer and consumer countries, a Common Fund for Commodities has been established, and dozens of conventions and agreements have been signed.

From 14 to 18 July 2004 in Sao Paulo (Brazil) the XI session of the UNCTAD Conference - “Improving the coherence between national strategies and global economic processes for the purposes of developing countries in particular” was held. showed their desire for full participation in international trade, self-reliance, including through the expansion of trade along the South-South line. Consolidation on the issue of agricultural subsidies used by developed countries allowed the G-77 to express their joint position at the 6th WTO Conference. UNCTAD operates on a group basis: Member States are divided into groups according to socio-economic and geographic principles. The developing countries are united in the "Group of 77". As a result of the XI session, a document was adopted - the "Consensus of Sao Paulo", aimed at promoting the adaptation of national development strategies to the conditions of globalization and strengthening the potential of developing countries. The start of the 3rd round of trade negotiations under the auspices of UNCTAD under the Global System of Trade Preferences (GSTP), which has been in operation since 1971, was announced.This system provides for the reduction or elimination of customs duties by all industrialized countries (PRS) in trade with developing countries by on a non-reciprocal basis, that is, without demanding reciprocal trade and political concessions. In practice, many industrialized countries have achieved a variety of exemptions (exceptions) from their preference schemes. Nevertheless, the Global System of Trade Preferences is helping to expand the export of processed products from economically weak countries.

Independent UN agencies

The independent specialized agencies operating within the UN system include An international organization labor (ILO), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), (IMF), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), etc.

The widening gap between rich and poor countries, the increased danger of global conflicts (the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 in the United States) stimulate the search for solutions to problems of regulation and financing of development around the world. In this context under the auspices of the UN in 2002, two forums were held: World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (South Africa) - from August 26 to September 4 and the International Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey (Mexico) - from March 18 to 22. As a result of the meetings, the Johannesburg Declaration and the Monterrey Consensus were adopted, respectively. At a meeting in South Africa special emphasis was placed on collective responsibility for social and economic development, ecology at all levels from local to global. The need for cooperation in areas such as water supply and sanitation, energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity was noted. In Mexico, the problem of sustainable development of the world was considered in terms of its financing. It is recognized that there is a dire shortage of resources for the goals of overcoming poverty and inequality set out in the UN Millennium Declaration. Methods of solving the problem corresponding to the liberal idea of \u200b\u200bdevelopment are proposed:

Mobilizing national financial resources of developing countries through improved performance and consistency and combating corruption at all levels.

Mobilization of international resources, including (FDI) and other private resources.

Is the most important and often the only external source of development finance. The existence of serious trade imbalances caused by export subsidies from the industrialized countries, the abuse of anti-dumping, technical, sanitary and phytosanitary measures was recognized. Developing countries (MDs) and countries with economies in transition (EIT) are concerned about tariff peaks and tariff escalation from industrialized countries (IDEs). It was found necessary to include in trade agreements effective and functional provisions for Special and Differential Treatment for Developing Countries.

Increased international financial and technical cooperation for development means increased official development assistance (ODA). The Conference called on the CP to make concrete efforts to achieve the target of 0.7% of ODA and 0.15-0.2% of developed countries' GNP for developing countries for the least developed countries.

It is an element of mobilizing resources for public and private investment. It is recognized that debtors and creditors should be jointly responsible for preventing and resolving situations of unsustainable debt levels.

Perfection system of global economic governance involves expanding the circle of participants in the decision-making process on development issues and filling organizational gaps. It is necessary to strengthen the involvement of developing countries and countries with economies in transition in the decision-making process in and, in the Bank for International Settlements, the Basel Committee and the Financial Stability Forum

Critics of the Monterrey Consensus point out that, as in the case of the Washington Consensus, developed countries proceed from a liberal development model, emphasizing the need to find resources for development within developing countries and with the help of the private sector. The developed countries themselves do not make any clear commitments regarding the reallocation of resources. Accordingly, it is almost impossible to bridge the gap between poverty and wealth.

The issue of equitable representation in the Security Council and the expansion of its membership, put forward for discussion by the UN General Assembly, was not resolved.

The Russian position is to support any option for expansion, provided that broad agreement is reached between all interested countries.

Thus, there are several mutually exclusive approaches to reforming the UN Security Council, which implies an indefinite duration of the transformation process.