scholarly journals Legitimacy versus illegitimacy — transparency, integrity of financial markets and corporate governance: whither corruption?

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (55) ◽  
pp. 31-47
Author(s):  
Mohamed A. ‘Arafa
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Financial Markets ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Code Of Conduct ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
Transparency International ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethics Management ◽  
The United Nations

Ethics management globally is a swiftly growing reality with various countries placing substantial emphasis on anti-corruption initiatives. International organizations, including the United Nations (“UN”), Transparency International (“TI”), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) have created a number of anti-corruption creativities, for instance, the UN, promulgated an International Code of Conduct for Public Officials in 1996 . Moreover, the United Nations International Centre for Crime Prevention has established an Anti-Corruption Tool kit to ‘help U.N. Member States and the public to understand the insidious nature of corruption, the potential damaging effect it can have on the welfare of entire nations and suggest measures used successfully by other countries in their efforts to uncover and deter corruption and build integrity . In the same vein, TI, the only global non-governmental organization dedicated to battling corruption, seeks via education and information to dishearten corrupt activities and fraudulent performances as well as foster integrity and liability to achieve better governance

International Organizations - *1.La Belgique et les Nations Unies. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1958. Pp. xi. 372. $3.00.) - 2.Jorge Castaneda: Mexico and the United Nations. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1958. Pp. xi, 244. $3.00.) - 3.Uruguay and the United Nations. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1958. Pp. xi. 129, $3.00.) - 4.Norman Harper and David Sissons: Australia and the United Nations. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1959. Pp. xiii, 423. $3.00.) - 5.Japan and the United Nations. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1958. Pp. xv, 246. $3.00.) - 6.William A. Scott and Stephen B. Whithey: The United States and the United Nations: The Public View, 1945–1955. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1958. Pp. xiii, 314. $3.00.) - 7.Robert M. Maclver: The Nations and the United Nations. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1959. Pp. xi, 186. $3.00.) - 8.Maurice Bourquin: L'Etat Souverain et L'Organisation Internationale. (New York: Manhattan Publishing Company, 1959. Pp. viii, 247. $3.00.) - 9.Yves Collart: Disarmament: A Study Guide and Bibliography on the Efforts of the United Nations, published under the auspices of the World Federation of United Nations Associations. (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1958. Pp. x, 110. $.80). - 10.European Yearbook, Vol. IV, published under the auspices of the Council of Europe. (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1958. Pp. xxi. 708. $9.94.) - 11.La Belgique Et L'Aide Economique Aux Pays Sous-Développés. (Brussels and The Hague: Institut Royal des Relations Internationales and Martinus Nijhoff, 1959. Pp. 529. $9.31.)

1960 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-274
Author(s):  
Stephen D. Kertesz
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
The United States ◽  
Publishing Company ◽  
World Federation ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Hague ◽  
The United Nations

Due Process Rights at the United Nations: Fairness and Effectiveness in Internal Investigations

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthieu Waechter
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Due Process ◽  
Legal Representation ◽  
The Public ◽  
Staff Members ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
United Nations System ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Due Process Rights

International organizations have a duty to combat frauds and other wrongdoings in their midst – with due respect for the rights of their staff members. Internal investigation is a tool for administration of internal justice and oversight. There are currently discussions within the United Nations System regarding who should conduct these investigations, and most importantly how. Discussion topics include discretionary authority to initiate an investigation and to outline its appropriate scope, standard of evidence, legal representation, timing of the disclosure of evidence and other due process considerations. This contribution discusses the cost of some selected due process policies and calls for balancing fairness and effectiveness objectives in investigation, keeping in mind both the rights of staff members and the public good objectives for which donors entrust funds to international organizations.

scholarly journals Corruption as a 'white-collar crime': International legal instruments on public accountability of public officials

Temida ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 7-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirjana Dokmanovic
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Public Procurement ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
Council Of Europe ◽  
Public Servants ◽  
The Public ◽  
The United Nations

Corruption within public services has devastated negative impact on a state, a society, its economy and its citizens. It represents a major threat to the rule of law, democracy, enjoyment of human rights, fairness and social justice. It hinders economic development and endangeres sustainable development, empowerishes national economies, and facilitates the emergence of other threats, such as organized crime. Fighting corruption has become more urgent than ever. This paper deals with the public liability of domestic public officials, highlighting the substantive main international standards for fighting corruption in public services in the international legal instruments adopted by the United Nations and the Council of Europe, such as the United Nations Conventions against Corruption, and the two Convention of Council of Europe, on Civil Law and on Criminal Law. The paper argues that corruption can be prosecuted after the fact, but first and foremost it requires prevention. Preventive policies include the establishment of anti-corruption bodies and enhanced transparency in the financing of election campaigns and political parties. States must endeavour to ensure that their public services are subject to safeguards that promote efficiency, transparency and recruitment based on merit. Once recruited, public servants should be subject to codes of conduct, requirements for financial and other disclosures, and appropriate disciplinary measures. Transparency and accountability in matters of public finance must also be promoted, and specific requirements are established for the prevention of corruption in particularly critical areas of the public sector such as the judiciary and public procurement. Those who use public services must expect a high standard of conduct from their public servants. Preventing public corruption also requires an effort from all members of society at large.

Overselling the Un Charter—Fact and Myth

1960 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Riggs
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
International Relations ◽  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
World Politics ◽  
International Organization ◽  
Extreme Form ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Future ◽  
The United Nations

For almost a decade commentators on international organization have nurtured the myth that the UN Charter was originally ‘oversold’ to the American public by enthusiastic supporters, who represented the organization as a panacea for the ills of twentieth-century world politics. So unrealistic were the expectations created by this publicity barrage, so the story runs, that subsequent disillusionment with die UN was inevitable. Although propagated with many variations, the myth finds a classic formulation in the words of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., uttered before the House Subcommittee on International Organizations and Movements, July 8, 1953: ‘The United Nations,’ said Ambassador Lodge, ‘was oversold. It was advertised entirely as an automatic peace producer. All we had to do was sign on die dotted line—so it was said—and all our troubles would be over’. A recent volume on international relations, currently in use as a college text, restated the myth in a some what less extreme form: ‘Considered a towering edifice of strength in 1945, the United Nations was often shrugged off in the early 1950's with the damning phrase, ‘debating society.’ Because expectations had been so extravagant, the achievements of the United Nations seemed ridiculously trivial to many who had expected a Utopian revolution in international relations that the United Nations could not hope to provide.” Other variations on the theme are no doubt familiar to students of international organization. Use of the expression ‘myth’ implies no denial that ‘a veritable wave of propaganda and influence was generated on behalf of American membership’ in the UN. The country was flooded with information, from bodi government and private sources, designed to win over the public to the desirability of postwar international organization. It is also true that those engaged in selling the UN to the public tried to give their arguments an optimistic, hopeful tone. Recalling the League's fate, they emphasized the differences between the League and the proposed new organization rather than their patent similarities. Often they were guilty of oversimplifying the facts of world politics upon which the future of the UN would necessarily depend. The growing split between Russia and the Western allies, so ominous for the new organization, was not usually highlighted in speeches urging the establishment of the UN. A vigorous selling campaign was unquestionably conducted.

scholarly journals Delegating diplomacy: rhetoric across agents in the United Nations General Assembly

2021 ◽  
pp. 002085232199756
Author(s):  
Julia Gray ◽  
Alex Baturo
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
General Assembly ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Single Voice ◽  
United Nations General Assembly ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Career Incentives

When political principals send agents to international organizations, those agents are often assumed to speak in a single voice. Yet, various types of country representatives appear on the international stage, including permanent representatives as well as more overtly “political” government officials. We argue that permanent delegates at the United Nations face career incentives that align them with the bureaucracy, setting them apart from political delegates. To that end, they tend to speak more homogeneously than do other types of speakers, while also using relatively more technical, diplomatic rhetoric. In addition, career incentives will make them more reluctant to criticize the United Nations. In other words, permanent representatives speak more like bureaucratic agents than like political principals. We apply text analytics to study differences across agents’ rhetoric at the United Nations General Assembly. We demonstrate marked distinctions between the speech of different types of agents, contradictory to conventional assumptions, with implications for our understandings of the interplay between public administration and agency at international organizations. Points for practitioners Delegations to international organizations do not “speak with one voice.” This article illustrates that permanent representatives to the United Nations display more characteristics of bureaucratic culture than do other delegates from the same country. For practitioners, it is important to realize that the manner in which certain classes of international actors “conduct business” can differ markedly. These differences in tone—even among delegates from the same principal—can impact the process of negotiation and debate.

Mandate or Donors? Explaining the UNHCR’s Country-Level Expenditures from 1967 to 2016

2021 ◽  
pp. 003232172097433
Author(s):  
Svanhildur Thorvaldsdottir ◽  
Ronny Patz ◽  
Klaus H Goetz
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Voluntary Contributions ◽  
United Nations High Commissioner ◽  
Country Level ◽  
High Commissioner ◽  
Donor Influence ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
Major Donors ◽  
Expenditure Allocation

In recent decades, many international organizations have become almost entirely funded by voluntary contributions. Much existing literature suggests that major donors use their funding to refocus international organizations’ attention away from their core mandate and toward serving donors’ geostrategic interests. We investigate this claim in the context of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), examining whether donor influence negatively impacts mandate delivery and leads the organization to direct expenditures more toward recipient countries that are politically, economically, or geographically salient to major donors. Analyzing a new dataset of UNHCR finances (1967–2016), we find that UNHCR served its global mandate with considerable consistency. Applying flexible measures of collective donor influence, so-called “influence-weighted interest scores,” our findings suggest that donor influence matters for the expenditure allocation of the agency, but that mandate-undermining effects of such influence are limited and most pronounced during salient refugee situations within Europe.

UNICEF in Central America

1960 ◽  
Vol 329 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-77
Author(s):  
Alice C. Shaffer
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
Central America ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Central American ◽  
The World ◽  
Working Together ◽  
Integrated Programs ◽  
Regional Basis ◽  
The United Nations

Central America has been one of the pioneer areas for the United Nations Children's Fund assisted pro grams. When the United Nations Children's Fund, under a broadened mandate from the United Nations, shifted the emphasis of its aid from emergency to long term and from war-torn countries to those economically less developed, Cen tral American governments immediately requested its assist ance to strengthen and extend services to children and mothers. As one of the first areas in the world to aim at the eradication of malaria and to have engaged in an inten sive campaign against malnutrition on a regional basis, the Central American experiences in these fields have become known, watched, and studied by people from many countries. Against this background, international and bilateral organi zations are working together with governments as they broaden the scope and the extent of their programs. Ten years of co-operative action have highlighted the need for train ing of personnel, both professional and auxiliary. This period has also made clear the value of more integrated programs with wider collaboration both within the ministries of government and between the international organizations.

International Labor Organization

1948 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-360 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Labor Organization ◽  
International Labor Organization ◽  
American States ◽  
International Labor ◽  
Social Council ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
June July

Report to the Economic and Social Council: The International Labor Organization submitted to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations on, September 29, 1947 a report on its activities during the year 1947. This report, the first of a regular series which ILO had agreed to submit regularly (Article V paragraph 2(a) of the Agreement between the United Nations and the ILO), included background information and covered the period from the establishment of the United Nations to July 15, 1947. This report dealt with the decisions of five successive sessions of the International Labor Conference, i.e., those held in Philadelphia, May 1947, in Paris, October–November 1945, in Seattle, June 1946, in Montreal, September–October 1946, and in Geneva, June–July 1947. Future reports, it was announced, would cover only one year's work. The report was accompanied by a volume containing a series of appendices which included the text of the Constitution of ILO as amended by the 1946 Instrument of Amendment, the text of the Agreement between the United Nations and ILO, a list of the committees of ILO, a list of meetings convened by ILO as well as meetings of other international organizations at which ILO was represented during the period covered by the report, a list of and the texts of Conventions, Recommendations, and some of the Resolutions adopted by the International Labor Conference, resolutions adopted by the third Conference of American States Members of ILO, held in 1946, and the text of the agreement between ILO and FAO.

scholarly journals The Human Right to Water and Unconventional Energy

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (9) ◽  
pp. 1858 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Palmer ◽  
Damien Short ◽  
Walter Auch
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
United Nations ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
Human Right ◽  
Governmental Organization ◽  
United Nations General ◽  
Access To Water ◽  
The United Nations ◽  
The Right

Access to water, in sufficient quantities and of sufficient quality is vital for human health. The United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (in General Comment 15, drafted 2002) argued that access to water was a condition for the enjoyment of the right to an adequate standard of living, inextricably related to the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and thus a human right. On 28 July 2010 the United Nations General Assembly declared safe and clean drinking water and sanitation a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights. This paper charts the international legal development of the right to water and its relevance to discussions surrounding the growth of unconventional energy and its heavy reliance on water. We consider key data from the country with arguably the most mature and extensive industry, the USA, and highlight the implications for water usage and water rights. We conclude that, given the weight of testimony of local people from our research, along with data from scientific literature, non-governmental organization (NGO) and other policy reports, that the right to water for residents living near fracking sites is likely to be severely curtailed. Even so, from the data presented here, we argue that the major issue regarding water use is the shifting of the resource from society to industry and the demonstrable lack of supply-side price signal that would demand that the industry reduce or stabilize its water demand per unit of energy produced. Thus, in the US context alone, there is considerable evidence that the human right to water will be seriously undermined by the growth of the unconventional oil and gas industry, and given its spread around the globe this could soon become a global human rights issue.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document