Global Governance and the United Nations

Global Governance

• Crises in domestic governance are inevitable due to the nature of government.
• Global governance can aid when crises cannot be resolved within a state.
• It has a facilitative and constraining role, but not a determinant one.
• Domestic public authorities primarily hold authority and capacity.
• The European Union's stance on President Duterte's war against drugs exemplifies a facilitative and constraining role.
• President Duterte continued his "Oplan: Tokhang" despite the EU's concerns about human rights violations, potentially affecting trade relations.
• Global governance includes laws, norms, policies, and institutions that define and mediate relations in the international arena.
• Global governance is needed when a state can no longer resolve crises internally without international mediation.

The United Nations

• The United Nations is an international organization established in 1945.
• Currently, it comprises 193 Member States.
• The UN's work is guided by the principles in its founding Charter.
• The main organs of the UN include the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council, Trusteeship Council, International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat.

The Role of the United Nations

• The United Nations plays several roles in the international scene.
• Its central mission is to maintain international peace and security through conflict prevention, peacemaking, peacekeeping, and creating conditions for sustainable peace.
• The UN Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
• The General Assembly and the Secretary-General support this mission.
• Human rights are a key guiding principle of the UN, as mentioned in its founding Charter.
• In 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights incorporated human rights into international law.
• The UN aims to achieve international cooperation in solving economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian international problems.
• The UN coordinates humanitarian relief operations for natural and man-made disasters.
• The UN promotes sustainable development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
• The UN aims to establish conditions for justice and respect for international law obligations.
• The Security Council can approve peacekeeping missions, impose sanctions, or authorize the use of force to address threats to international peace and security.

Global Governance and the United Nations

• Globalization creates "governance gaps" that are evident in the business and human rights landscape.
• Knowledge gaps occur creating a lack of information about the origin, causes and solutions of certain events.
• The UN provides a platform to discuss, study, and improve knowledge on such phenomena.
• Normative gaps relate to patterns of behavior, either statistically common or ethically driven.
• The UN serves as a universal forum for seeking consensus on dealing with global problems.
• Policy gaps involve challenges in identifying actors, policymakers, and their roles.
• The UN cannot make foreign policy because it is not engaged in boundary activities.
• The Security Council and the General Assembly are the primary policymakers at the UN.
• Institutional gaps exist when policies lack necessary resources and autonomy.
• Even powerful institutions may lack appropriate resources or authority.
• Compliance gaps involve mechanisms to identify and address deviations from agreed norms and commitments, with incentives for cooperation and disincentives for non-compliance.
• There is often a lack of clear authority and capacity to ensure member-states honor agreements, with the exception of the Security Council.
• UN bodies often rely on making "recommendations" and publicizing non-compliance to encourage adherence.
• International organizations like the World Trade Organization and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade assist in monitoring member-states' compliance with trade agreements.

Explore global governance, its facilitative and constraining roles, and its importance in resolving crises. Examine the UN's structure, purpose, and influence in international relations. Learn how states navigate governance challenges with international mediation.