Program on United Nations Finance and the UN Financial Crisis
A deep financial crisis has crippled the UN for the past four years. Member states owe the organization more than $2 billion in unpaid dues, a sum nearly twice the size of the regular budget. The UN has no authority to borrow, so it now owes very large sums to suppliers and to member states that have provided peacekeeping forces. Secretary General Kofi Annan and his team have been forced to pare budgets that are already inadequate, damaging the UN's many vital programs.
The United States government is primarily responsible for the crisis, because of large arrears in its dues payments (about $1.4 billion) that Congress has been unwilling to authorize. But other major governments have contributed to the crisis, too, by cutting contributions to key development and humanitarian funds. As a result, many diplomatic initiatives for peace have shut down, human rights programs are hobbled, emergency humanitarian efforts are woefully under-funded, even critical work on public health has ground to a halt.
Global Policy Forum promotes public awareness of this crisis and seeks solutions. The Program on UN Finance is one of GPF's major program priorities.
The UN Finance Program in 1998
Global Policy Forum has worked on the question of United Nations finance and the financial crisis since 1994. Its diverse and respected program has included research, public education, media outreach, diplomacy, public events, publications, and partnerships with many dozens of citizen organizations worldwide. The following are highlights of this effort in 1998:
Research & Analysis: Defining and Interpreting the Crisis
Global Policy Forum carried out research and analysis on the financial crisis in close consultation with the United Nations Secretariat. We clarified the nature of the crisis and persuaded citizen groups that this is an issue they can and should address. Press outlets and citizen organizations often turned to GPF as their main source of information and interpretation, especially because of complex and confusing developments in Washington. Expert consultants in universities and institutes, such as Klaus Hüfner of the Freie Universität in Berlin and Anthony McDermott of the Oslo Peace Research Institute helped GPF during the year by sharing their own research and data. That input, along with GPF's outstanding in-house research capacity, assured work of a world-class quality.
www.globalpolicy.org: State of the Art Communications Tool
Global Policy Forum maintained and developed its award-winning site on the world wide web. The site, with colorful graphics and constantly-updated information, contained at Annual more than 150 pages of data tables, graphs, documents and analysis on UN finance. A chronology keeps close track of financial developments at the UN, in Washington and worldwide. The site appeals to students and ordinary citizens as well as to experts. In 1998, site use grew rapidly, reaching over a million hits.
Worldwide Vigil: Mobilizing the Public In 1998, GPF organized the Third Worldwide Vigil on the UN Financial Crisis, held on October 23rd, the eve of UN Day, in 43 cities around the globe. First organized in 1996, the vigil seeks to bring public attention to the crisis and to promote citizen efforts to solve it. The World Federalist Movement and United Nations Associations again joined as major partners. GPF brought together a broad coalition of NGOs to support the vigil and hundreds of local organizers put together vigil events worldwide in cities such as Calcutta, Tokyo, Accra, Oslo and London. Actor Michael Douglas was one of the celebrity figures who spoke at the vigil in Washington DC. GPF played a large part in organizing the main vigil event in New York City, held across the street from UN headquarters.
Diplomatic Initiatives: A Multilateral Approach
Global Policy Forum mobilized support in diplomatic circles for effective solutions to the financial crisis. This effort included contacts with delegations that were active in the General Assembly's Fifth (Budget) Committee. GPF promoted thinking on alternative sources of UN financing, including innovative global taxes and fees, and we held a conference on this subject at the United Nations. GPF urged all governments to pay their dues on time, in full and without condition, and provided the diplomatic community with a comprehensive analysis of the issues.
Advising Partner Organizations: Building an NGO Movement
Global Policy Forum advised and encouraged citizen groups -- in the United States and worldwide -- on their work on the UN financial crisis. We helped to draft statements, wrote newsletter articles and otherwise provided policy advice to dozens of organizations including the League of Women Voters, the National Council of Churches, Citizens for Funding the UN, Church Women United, Franciscans International, the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program, the World Federalist Movement, and many more.
Outreach to the Media: Spreading the Word
GPF staff and associates made many presentations to public meetings and mass media on the financial crisis, including CNN, MSNBC, Deutsche Welle, Finnish TV, BBC, and Danish news service. Executive Director James Paul spoke at an expert meeting of UN specialists, parliamentarians and government officials in Bonn in January 1998, he was quoted in a front-page article in the Christian Science Monitor, and he appeared on two national television programs, including "Good Morning America." GPF even placed a story on the UN's financial crisis in Scholastic Magazine, which circulates to nearly all primary school children in the United States.
'Indispensable' Data: Bedrock of Dependable Analysis
Global Policy Forum assembles data tables and graphs on UN finance and the financial crisis that are the most authoritative in the world. The UN library often refers users to these tables as the best and most accessible source. Michael Renner, Senior Researcher at Worldwatch Institute, is one of several respected authorities who uses these tables in his own widely-published writings. Renner has called GPF's work "absolutely indispensable and fabulous."
Overall, GPF reached major accomplishments on UN finance in 1998, thanks to help from many partners around the world. GPF Associates Elizabeth Sullivan, Anja Kallmeyer and Simone Koring made especially important contributions to this work. In 1999, we plan to further expand this program. By building on a strong record, GPF hopes to increase momentum towards a resolution of the crisis. Adequate financing is essential if the UN is to fulfill its many, urgent global responsibilities.
Vigil Cities
Accra, Ghana
Akron, USA
Albany, USA
Amherst, USA
Atlanta, USA
Boston, USA
Calcutta, India
Canberra, Australia
Chicago, USA
Copenhagen, Denmark
Geneva, Switzerland
Guelph, Canada
The Hague, Netherlands
Havana, Cuba
Kansas City, USA
Kingston, Australia
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Lagos, Nigeria
Lincoln, USA
London, UK
Long Beach, USA
Lyon, France
Montreal, Canada
Nicosia, Cyprus
New York, USA
Oslo, Norway
Ottawa, Canada
Parimaribo, Surinam
Providence, USA
Salt Lake City, USA
San Francisco, USA
St. Martin, Guernsey, UK
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Stockholm, Sweden
Tokyo, Japan
Toronto, Canada
Tucson, USA
Vancouver,Canada
Victoria, Canada
Walla Walla, USA
Washington, DC, USA
Winnipeg, Canada
Yellowknife, Canada
Global Policy Forum is supported primarily by contributions from generous individuals who join as members. GPF also receives grants from foundations and partner institutions. GPF is incorporated in the State of New York, registered as a charitable organization and recognized by the US Internal Revenue Service as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization under section 501(c)(3) of the revenue code.
