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SEVEN REASONS WHY THE UN IS FOR YOU
1. KEEPING PEACE: When
conflicts threaten international security, it provides a forum for
negotiation; it can also send blue-helmeted multinational peace-keepers to
stabilize a crisis.
2. FIGHTING POVERTY: It
helps the poor to help themselves, through development projects.
3. PROTECTING ENVIRONMENT:
It brings governments together to prevent climate change, air and water
pollution, extinction of species, depletion of natural resources and many
other problems.
4. HELPING IN EMERGENCIES:
It organizes humanitarian relief and food supplies for millions of refugees
and victims of famine and natural disasters.
5. STANDING UP FOR HUMAN
RIGHTS: It sets international standards for the rights of children,
women and minorities, monitors abuses and lets governments know that "the
world is watching".
6. IMPROVING HEALTH AND
EDUCATION: It helps poorer countries to provide more and better schools
and health services, and works to prevent the spread of global diseases like
AIDS.
7. BUILDING DEMOCRACY: It
helps countries conduct free and fair elections. UN observers have monitored
elections in Haiti, South Africa, Nicaragua, Cambodia and other countries.
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UN ACHIEVEMENTS
Most people know that United
Nations agencies have contributed to the eradication of smallpox, immunized
80% of the world's children against deadly diseases, provided food aid,
coordinated emergency relief in the face of disasters. natural and
otherwise, and helped to avert or end wars and maintain international peace
and stability. But few are aware that the United Nations:
. aided the process of
democratization and ensured fair elections, providing electoral
assistance and advice to countries undergoing a transition to democracy,
such as Albania, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mozambique, Namibia to name just a
few
. promoted decolonization, self-determination and independence
in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean and the
Pacific
. enabled participation in the global economy by working in
more than 170 countries and territories to develop their infrastructures,
strengthen their institutions, enable effective economic planning and
train human resources
. assisted in the restructuring of economies and societies and in
promoting international economic stability with the help of the
World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
. encouraged international trade relations and the reduction of trade
barriers through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
. facilitated global communication, ensuring that mail and
broadcast signals travel as intended, assigning geostationary satellite
positions and allocating the radio-frequency spectrum
. led the international environmental effort to preserve and
protect global resources for future generations
. protected more than 30 million refugees fleeing war,
famine or persecution, and assisted in their resettlement and, where
possible repatriation
. strengthened and expanded the body of international law,
with over 300 international treaties ranging from standard-setting human
rights conventions to agreements governing the use of oceans and outer
space
. established standards for patenting and coordinated international
protection of intellectual property - inventions, trademarks,
industrial designs, and literary and artistic works covered by copyright
. highlighted issues previously thought to concern only a limited
part of society - from the environment to women to indigenous
peoples; UN Conferences and International Years have placed these concerns
squarely on the global agenda
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