What is the role of the united nations?

Question

I'm asking what is it that they actually do? I just need to know what thier role is in the international system.


Thanks.

I'm asking what is it that they actually do? I just need to know what thier role is in the international system. This is for school and I'm kind of stuck so please, I need a real answer not jokes.

Answer 1

If only anyone actually knew

My theory. They are there for blame, countries can place blame on them for a failure, such as what is happening in Afric in the last 10-15 years. Just blame Africa. Essentially the ambassadors discuss how much money they are stealing from their tax payers

EDIT: This is a real answer, its hard to joke about this...
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041005-022528-7849r.htm

Answer 2

The United Nations was formed to replace the weakened League of Nations that failed to consistently serve the need at the time. The UN of today is much more of an ideology servant than it was post great wars, More so because the UN is like an agent for a one post money mission. This is why China remained silent with its vote for so long.

Answer 3

They actually charge member nations a lot of money. They do studies which require travel and lots of this money. They write resolutions which are largely ineffective and ignored. They spend more money. Money disappears, but nobody knows where it went.

Oil for food is a good example. Okay, you might think, is skimming this money such a big deal? Well, yes, it was so big that this scam has been characterized as involving ‘staggering levels of corruption,’ with an estimated at $10 billion-plus in bribes, kickbacks and other payoffs to individuals and to governments. Anan’s Secretariat office alone collected more than $1.4 billion over the life of the program supposedly to monitor, audit and administer it, yet due to a UN policy of extreme secrecy there are no public records of the program.

Answer 4

Michael ... See my link below to a great Wikipedia entry that tells you a lot about the U.N.

In addition to what you see there, don't overlook the many frustrations that have occurred at the U.N. The more people you have in a planning/discussion group, the harder it is to reach concensus.

Also, in case someone mentions that lately the U.N. seems to be useless and you wonder why we tolerate having them in NYC, consider this: Yes, some of the U.N. diplomats are spies for the country they represent. But having the U.N. on our soil gives the U.S. and opportunity to monitor and try to decipher the sensitive diplomatic traffic that goes to/from the U.N. This is nothing new; they've been doing this since the word "wiretap" was discovered.

Good luck with your search for info on the U.N.

Answer 5

I dont know!You would think that by using the word United it would be a good thing.But every since i can remember,the countries the united nations is involved in seems worse off than ever.Things dont ever seem to get any better.
Viet nam,Africa,Asia, cambodia,Isreal,iraq,afganistan etc.etc.etc.

Answer 6

According to the United Nations they do a lot of things..But I can't find any results just a lot of resolutions and mandates ..

TERRORISM : The United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1373, which, among its provisions, obliges all States to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities, deny financial support and safe haven to terrorists and share information about groups planning terrorist attacks. DISARMAMENT : With 66 Members, UNCD is the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.
THE ADVANCEMENT OF WOMEN :The Division's mandate is to advocate improvement of the status of the women and achievement of their equality with men.
IRAQ:"The UN role can assist in building an inclusive political process, helping to cultivate a regional environment supportive of a transition to stability, and pursuing reconstruction through the International Compact." To ensure swift, flexible, and coordinated donor financing for priority investments in Iraq , the UN and the World Bank created theInternational Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq .
POVERTY:Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative
The HIPC Initiative is a comprehensive approach to debt reduction for heavily indebted poor countries pursuing IMF- and World Bank-supported adjustment and reform programs. To date, debt reduction packages have been approved for 29 countries, 25 of them in Africa, providing US$35 billion (net present value terms as of the decision point) in debt-service relief over time. Eleven additional countries are potentially eligible for HIPC Initiative assistance and may wish to avail themselves of this debt relief.
REFUGEES:Mandate is to lead and coordinate international action for the world-wide protection of refugees and the resolution of refugee problems.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Iraq Ashraf Qazi calls for Further Efforts at National Reconciliation in Iraq [3/1/2006]

Answer 7

They have no role. They like to critisize the U.S. and tell us how bad we are, but lack the authority to enforce thier resolutions or their own rules for member nations.

Much like liberals, they like to pass blame but not offer meaningful enforceable solutions to world problems.

Answer 8

Ha...this is actually a great question that I would like to know the answer to myself. All I can ever manage to find out is that we, the American people, fund almost the entire program and what do we have to show for it? We don't even know what they do! Sounds like a government program to me.....

Answer 9

The UN roles is promoting democracy, peace, and understanding throughout the world. CHesk these two sites out they will give you an abundance of information.

Answer 10

Now their role seems to undermine both Israel and the US at every opportunity, to support terror sponsoring regimes and to pilfer funds by the millions from the coffers.