Model U nited N ations United Nations Economic and Social Council

1. Model United NationsUnited Nations Economic and Social Council Hanyang University Summer 2009

2. United Nations Economic and Social Council • The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. • ECOSOC has 54 members, all of whom are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term. • The president is elected for a one-year term and chosen amongst the small or middle powers represented on ECOSOC. (Haiti)

3. Official UN regionalization schemeSOURCE:http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/m49/m49regin.htm

4. United Nations Economic and Social Council • ECOSOC meets once a year in July for a four-week session. • Since 1998, it has held another meeting each April with finance ministers heading key committees of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). • Viewed separate from the specialized bodies it coordinates, ECOSOC’s functions include information gathering, advising member nations, and making recommendations. • In addition, ECOSOC is well positioned to provide policy coherence and coordinate the overlapping functions of the UN’s subsidiary bodies and it is in these roles that it is most active.

5. United Nations Economic and Social Council • Through much of its history, ECOSOC has served primarily as a discussion vehicle for economic and social issues. • ECOSOC had little authority to force action and a number of member states were concerned that its utility was only marginal. • However, beginning in 1992, the US and other nations began an effort to make ECOSOC more relevant by strengthening its policy responsibilities in economic, social, and related fields, particularly in furthering development objectives.

6. United Nations Economic and Social Council • The resulting reform made ECOSOC the oversight and policy-setting body for UN operational development activities and established smaller executive boards for the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which would provide those agencies with operating guidance and promote more effective management. • Coordinated their work on issues of common interest, such as narcotics control, human rights, the alleviation of poverty, and the prevention of HIV/AIDS.

7. United Nations Economic and Social Council • One positive impact of this reform was the manner in which the UN development system began to respond more efficiently to humanitarian crises around the world. • Another example was the ECOSOC decision in 1994 to authorize the creation of a new co-sponsored UN program on HIV/AIDS. • This program (UNAIDS) will bring together the existing AIDS-related resources and expertise of the World Health Organization, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, UNESCO, and the World Bank into one consolidated global program, eliminating duplication of effort and enhancing the ability of member states to cope with the AIDS pandemic. • It began operating in January 1996.

8. U N Economic and Social Council • ECOSOC Resolution 1996/31 allows for the roughly 2000 NGOs holding consultative status to have input "into ECOSOC's deliberations" including public meetings, UN international conferences, and "to place items on the agendas of ECOSOC and its subsidiary bodies", and to present statements to governments. • Annual Ministerial Review (AMR). • Through this review, the ECOSOC will assess progress made towards the Millennium Development Goals, and also the implementation of the other goals and targets agreed at the major UN conferences and summits over the past 15 years. • Assists the General Assembly in promoting international economic and social cooperation and development. • ECOSOC has 54 members, all of whom are elected by the General Assembly for a three-year term.

9. ECOSOC - Functional Commissions • UN Commission for Social Development • UN Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR): • Disbanded 2006, replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly • Commission on Narcotic Drugs • Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice • Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD) • Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) • UN Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) • Commission on Population and Development • UN Statistical Commission • United Nations Forum on Forests

10. ECOSOC - Specialized Agencies • Specialized Agencies are autonomous organizations working with the United Nations and each other: ILO - International Labor Organization FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WHO - World Health Organization World Bank Group • IBRD - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development • IDA - International Development Association • IFC - International Finance Corporation • MIGA - Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency • ICSID - International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes IMF - International Monetary Fund ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization IMO - International Maritime Organization

11. ECOSOC - Specialized Agencies (cont’d) ITU - International Telecommunication Union UPU - Universal Postal Union WMO - World Meteorological Organization WIPO - World Intellectual Property Organization IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development UNICEF - United Nations Children Fund UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNDP - United Nations Development Program IRO - International Refugee Organization (ceased to exist in 1952) INCB - International Narcotics Control Board

12. U N Millennium Declaration, September 2000, commits 189 member states to achieve by 2015: • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger • Reduce by half the proportion of people living on less than one U.S. dollar a day. • Reduce by half the proportion of people who suffer from hunger. • Increase the amount of food for those who suffer from hunger. • Achieve universal primary education • Ensure that all boys and girls complete a full course of primary schooling. • Increased enrollment must be accompanied by efforts to ensure that all children remain in school and receive a high-quality education • Promote gender equality and empower women • Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015. • Reduce child mortality • Reduce child mortality rate under five by two thirds.

13. Millennium Development Goals • Improve maternal health • Reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio. • Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases • Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS • Halt and begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases. • Ensure environmental sustainability • reverse loss of environmental resources. • reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water • improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020. • Develop a global partnership for development • Address the least developed countries’ special needs. • tariff- and quota-free access for their exports; enhanced debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries; cancellation of official bilateral debt. • Address the special needs of landlocked and small island developing states. • Deal comprehensively with developing countries' debt problems. • Develop decent and productive work for youth. • In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in developing countries

14. Economic Development • The World Bank - classifying economies by gross national income (GNI) per capita which is similar to but not the same as the gross domestic product (GDP). • low income countries the GNI per capita is $745 or less; • lower middle income countries it is $746 - $2,975; • upper middle income countries it is, $2,976 - $9,205; • high income countries it is, $9,206 or more. • There are no official definitions of "developed" or "developing" countries in the UN system.

15. UNDevelopment Program • Largest multilateral source of development assistance in the world. • The UNDP Administrator is the third highest ranking member of the United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-General and Deputy Secretary-General. • Headquartered in New York City, the UNDP is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from member nations.

16. Functions UNDP • Democratic governance UNDP supports national democratic transitions by providing policy advice and technical support, improving institutional and individual capacity within countries, educating populations about and advocating for democratic reforms, promoting negotiation and dialogue, and sharing successful experiences from other countries and locations. • Poverty reduction UNDP helps countries develop strategies to combat poverty by expanding access to economic opportunities and resources, linking poverty programs with countries’ larger goals and policies, and ensuring a greater voice for the poor. UNDP also works at the macro level to reform trade, encourage debt relief and foreign investment, and ensure the poorest of the poor benefit from globalization. • On the ground, UNDP sponsors developmental pilot projects, promotes the role of women in development, and coordinates efforts between governments, NGOs, and outside donors. • In this way, UNDP works with local leaders and governments to provide opportunities for impoverished people to create businesses and improve their economic condition.

17. Functions • Crisis prevention and recovery UNDP works to reduce the risk of armed conflicts or disasters, and promote early recovery after crises have occurred. • Energy and environment As the poor are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation and lack of access to clean, affordable energy services, UNDP seeks to address environmental issues in order to improve developing countries’ abilities to develop sustainably. • UNDP works with countries to strengthen their capacity to address global environmental issues by providing innovative policy advice and linking partners through environmentally sensitive development projects that help poor people build sustainable livelihoods. • UNDP’s environmental strategy focuses on • effective water governance, • access to sustainable energy services, • Sustainable land management to combat desertification and land degradation, conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, • and policies to control emissions of harmful pollutants and ozone-depleting substances