From Lincoln Journal, October 16, 2003

CELEBRATE THE U.N.

by Joanna Hopkins

Friday, Oct. 24, is U.N. Day. To celebrate the many accomplishments of the U.N. in promoting non-violent conflict resolution, disarmament, human
rights, economic development, health and environmental protections around the world, come to the Great Hall of the State House at 3:30 PM on Friday for refreshments and a speech by Ambassador Jonathan Moore. The event is free and open to the public.

Some recent U.N. accomplishments include: peacekeeping in Kosovo,
supporting free elections in Sierra Leone and independence in East Timor,
delivering 1000 tons of food per hour in Iraq this summer, achieving 60%
adult literacy in developing countries, helping contain the SARS epidemic,
providing family planning services, business credit and technical training
to women living in poverty, halving child mortality since 1960, and creating
the International Criminal Court.

Moreover, the U.N. has sponsored many treaties promoting international
cooperation, security, human rights and environmental protections. Among
them are the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Kyoto Global Warming Protocol, the Law of the Sea Treaty, and Conventions to ban landmines, eliminate discrimination against women, and insure the rights of children. The U.S. Senate has yet to ratify these and other important treaties. Representatives of the 191 member nations meet annually in the General Assembly. Urgent peace and security issues are decided by the 15-member Security Council, where the 5 permanent members -- the U.S. Britain, France, Russia and China -- have the veto power. Another 30 agencies and programs, each with their own budgets and staff, complete the U.N. system. Their work ranges over disaster and refugee relief, education and culture, disease prevention, aid to children, economic development of poor countries, human rights, workers' rights, peacekeeping, and drug trafficking and terrorism prevention.

In 2002, U.S. contributions to the entire U.N. system were over $3
billion, less than one quarter of one percent of our federal budget. That
includes almost $300 million or roughly 22% of the U.N.'s regular operating
budget, far less than the U.S. share of the global economy. The rest goes to U.N. peacekeeping missions and voluntary contributions to U.N. agencies, including the World Bank and IMF. Compare that to the $400 billion annual U.S. military budget, plus the additional Iraq war cost which is rapidly approaching $200 billion. The U.N. inspectors in Iraq cost less than
one-sixth of the $600M David Kay is now requesting for the U.S. inspection
team there, despite his recent interim report that no WMD have yet been
found.

Like all human institutions, the U.N. is a work in progress. Since Kofi
Annan became Secretary-General in 1997, the U.N. has been reorganized and streamlined. He has increased U.N. partnerships with regional institutions, business communities, and civil societies. Traditional peacekeeping operations are being expanded to include peace making in intra-state conflicts and post-conflict peace building to address the deepest causes of conflict.

The U.N. system has made many important positive contributions (see
www.un.org for more details). In recognition, it has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize six times, most recently in 2001. It deserves our full support as our best hope for promoting global peace, justice, health, prosperity, and a sustainable environment.

Joanna Hopkins
7 Linway Rd.
Lincoln, MA 01773
781 259 0194