Suchergebnisse

Two issues will take centre stage at the forthcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20): the prospects for a global "green economy" in the context of poverty alleviation and sustainable development, and the United Nations' institutional framework for sustainable development. In the run-up to the conference, public attention is heavily focused on the issue of a green economy and the formulation of global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the development of the UN's institutional sustainability architecture must not be treated as a secondary issue. It is indeed a precondition if the visionary green economy ideas are to become tangible for the day-to-day business of multilateral development cooperation and if any SDGs that may emerge are to be achieved. At the very least Rio+20 should therefore provide the framework in which the heads of state and government admit to the world public once and for all that the alleged conflict between environment and development is a construct that must be overcome to everyone's benefit. Global development that is sustainable in the true meaning of the word will remain impossible unless scarce natural resources are used responsibly and unless climate change is effectively mitigated. Effective environment policy and forward-looking resource management, on the other hand, will help, especially under conditions of poverty, to improve the well-being and development prospects of the people affected. The prospective realignment of the UN environment and development institutions thus becomes a litmus test of the United Nation's future ability to take action in the realm of sustainable development and a gauge of how seriously the international community takes the goal of transforming the global economy. A highranking Council for Sustainable Development and an environment agency that carries more political weight may be instrumental in this, so long as they are not restricted to symbolic policies. This calls for unequivocal political support from the heads of state and government, international agreement on the development of more efficient negotiating and decision-making processes, more effective instruments for implementation and supervision and reliable financial resources on an adequate scale. Any new or reformed agency must fit into the overall UN institutional structure and take account of reforms already being undertaken to achieve "system-wide coherence". Only then can the United Nations be put in a position to provide the enduring support expected of it for a global transformation to sustainable development.

Im September 2000 bekräftigten die Staats- und Regierungschefs in der Milleniumserklärung der Vereinten Nationen ihren Willen, die Globalisierung zu einer positiven Kraft für alle Menschen zu machen und definierten als zentrale Handlungsfelder Frieden und Sicherheit, Entwicklung und Armutsbekämpfung, Umweltschutz und Menschenrechte und Demokratie. Kurze Zeit später wurden acht Milleniumsentwicklungsziele (MDGs) zur Umsetzung der breiten Zielvorgaben der Milleniumserklärung mit spezifischen Zielen und einem Zeitrahmen versehen. Weltweit akzeptiert wurden die MDGs zum globalen Referenzrahmen der internationalen Entwicklungspolitik in der letzten Dekade. Der Beitrag beschreibt das erweiterte Entwicklungsverständnis, fragt, was inzwischen erreicht wurde und woran es fehlt und wirft abschließend einen Blick auf die Herausforderungen, vor denen die Vereinten Nationen stehen. (ICA2)

Both the European Union and multilateral agencies in the United Nations (UN) system are important partners for German development policy. Roughly one third of the official development assistance (ODA) Germany provides is spent for multilateral development cooperation (DC). At the same time, multilateral DC has a chronically poor reputation, even though reforms are currently being carried out to address identified weaknesses. The UN system and the EU in particular have come in for criticism for the alleged inefficiency and lack of effectiveness of their policies as well as for duplications in their work. While European and multilateral DC is less accessible to control than bilateral assistance, it also has a number of concrete advantages over bilateral engagement. These latter include the size and scope of the programmes and a greater measure of neutrality as often perceived by partners. In other words, multilateral and bilateral DC can complement one another. Furthermore, Germany – like other countries – is reliant on a functioning multilateral system, both in terms of self-interest and as a means of contributing to meeting global challenges. The new German government should intensify its engagement in multilateral DC and support the EU and the UN in their efforts to refine their comparative advantages and to make better use of them. This would include an improved international division of labour and greater emphasis on orientation towards more effectiveness. Necessary reform measures should support the reform efforts from within the earmarked funds could be necessary. Successful reforms in the EU and the UN contribute more to improving the effectiveness of DC than national efforts ever could achieve on their own.

"Von der zunehmenden Anzahl internationaler Organisationen verfügt nahezu jede über einen Verwaltungsstab. Neben rein administrativer Unterstützung des politischen Tagesgeschäfts- der historische Ursprung des internationalen Beamtentums - umfasst deren Tätigkeitsbereich zunehmend Aktivitäten wie Wissens- und Informationsmanagement, die Unterstützung multilateraler Verhandlungsprozesse, die Normengenerierung, -entwicklung und -unterstützung bis hin zur Übernahme operativer Tätigkeiten. Bislang hat die aktuelle Forschung zu internationaler Politik dieses Forschungsfeld weitgehend vernachlässigt; lange Zeit wurde nicht einmal davon ausgegangen, dass internationale Organisationen und ihre Bürokratien von Bedeutung sind. Der vorliegende Artikel möchte daher einen Beitrag dazu leisten, die Tätigkeiten der Verwaltungsstäbe und ihr Wirken auf internationale Politik näher zu bestimmen sowie Lücken und Tücken der derzeitigen Annäherung an dieses (neue) Forschungsgebiet aufzudecken. Erstens geben wir einen Überblick über die Charakteristika internationaler Verwaltungsstäbe, um zweitens Beispiele für deren Wirkung auf internationale Politik zu systematisieren. In einem dritten Schritt analysieren wir die Debatte zum Akteurscharakter internationaler Organisationen, um Quellen und Bedingungen eigenständigen Einflusses zu identifizieren. Der Beitrag endet mit Empfehlungen für künftige Forschungsstrategien." (Autorenreferat)

The sixtieth UN General Assembly opens on September 14, 2005, with a three-day summit of heads of state and government to conduct the five-year review of the Millennium Declaration of 2000. Institutional reform of the United Nations will also be on the top of the agenda. One substantial outcome is expected to be the establishment of a Peacebuilding Commission. This body will be particularly significant for Germany if it is decided not to expand the Security Council in the foreseeable future (SWP comments / SWP)

Am 14. September 2005 wird die 60. VN-Generalversammlung mit einem dreitägigen Gipfeltreffen der Staats- und Regierungschefs eröffnet. Anlaß dieses Treffens ist die Fünf-Jahres-Überprüfung der im Jahr 2000 verabschiedeten Millenniumserklärung. Im Mittelpunkt stehen zudem institutionelle Reformen der Vereinten Nationen. Als ein wesentliches Ergebnis wird die Einrichtung einer Peacebuilding-Kommission erwartet. Für Deutschland dürfte dieses Gremium vor allem dann bedeutsam werden, wenn ein Beschluß zur Erweiterung des Sicherheitsrates in absehbarer Zeit nicht zustande kommt.(SWP-aktuell/ SWP)

This chapter shows that while the UN development system (UNDS) has benefited from a strong increase in resources over recent years, it suffers from the reliance on a small number of contributing countries and a disproportionate earmarking of funds. While softer forms of such tied funding can be credited with fostering coherence, efficiency, and innovation in the UN's country-level work, tightly earmarked project funding has substantial, and not yet fully recognized negative implications for the development effectiveness and multilateral functions of the UNDS. Efforts to contain the rise of earmarked funding (which is driven both by political interests of member states and the desire to financially grow UN organizations) and broaden the base of contributors, have so far been ineffective. The UN Funding Compact presents the first systemic answer that brings together member states and UN development organizations. It remains to be seen whether it can slow down harmful funding practices and equip the UNDS with the resources required so that it can act as a catalyst for implementing the 2030 Agenda.