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Unitar and UN Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Robert S. Jordan
Robert S. Jordan
Affiliation:
Robert S. Jordan is Director of Research at the United Nations Institute for Training Research. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policies of UNITAR or the United Nations. The author and do not necessarily reflect the policies of UNITAR or the United Nations. The author wishes to acknowledge the invaluable assistance in preparing this article given by Dr. John P. Renninger, Assistant to the Director of Research.
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Comments and Current Views
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International Organization , Volume 30 , Issue 1 , Winter 1976 , pp. 163 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 1976

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References

1 The Statute of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research was promulgated by Secretary-General U Thant in November 1965. For background see Campbell, Persia, “UNITAR–The First World University,” International Development Review 11 (03 1969)Google Scholar and Cox, Arthur M. and Mathiasen, Karl, United Nations Training and Research Institute (Washington: The Brookings Institution, 1964).Google Scholar

2 UNITAR Statute. For the original text of the Statute, see Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, Forty-First Session, Annexes, agenda item 26, document E/4200, annex 1.

3 UNITAR's training programs are designed to meet the needs of a variety of different professionals. Regular training seminars include those on multilateral diplomacy both for new members of missions and new delegates to the General Assembly, courses in United Nations documentation held in both New York and Geneva, and the annual UNITAR seminar for senior United Nations officials held at the Schloss Hernstein, Austria. Other seminars are held on special topics of current relevance. These include science and technology, law of the sea, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, remote sensing, and the role of women.

4 Special courses were recently conducted at the New York headquarters for Mexican and Venezuelan foreign service officers and refresher courses in international law were recently conducted in Sierra Leone and Zaire for officials from all over Africa. Discussions have also been held with specialized agencies with regard to inter-agency training. Because of its expertise and experience, UNITAR can be expected to play a leading role in this type of activity.

5 UNITAR Statute.

6 UNITAR has acted as “liaison” between the United Nations and scholars from the academic world conducting research on the UN system. At present, UNITAR has working relations with some 350 universities and academic institutions in countries in every region of the world. A recent survey by the Union of International Associations on the amount of interaction and contacts between international organizations and academic institutions placed UNITAR third out of 56 groups.

7 See, for example, Bailey, Sydney D., Peaceful Settlement of Disputes: Ideas and Proposals for Research (New York: UNITAR, 1971)Google Scholar and Andemicael, Berhanykun, Peaceful Settlement Among African States: Roles of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (New York: UNITAR, 1973).Google Scholar

8 See Pechora, Vratislav, Complementary Structures of Third-Party Settlement of International Disputes (New York: UNITAR, 1971).Google Scholar

9 See Levin, Aida, The OAS and the UN: Relations in the Peace and Security Field (New York: UNITAR, 1974)Google Scholar; and Robertson, A.H., The Relations Between the Council of Europe and the United Nations (New York: UNITAR, 1972).CrossRefGoogle Scholar

10 See Ozawa, Terutomo, Transfer of Technology from Japan to Developing Countries (New York: UNITAR, 1971)Google Scholar and Wortzel, Lawrence H., Technology Transfer in the Pharmaceutical Industry (New York: UNITAR, 1971)Google Scholar. Other topics of UNITAR publications include race relations, problems of small states and territories, and coordination in the UN system. Some UNITAR publications are available in French, Spanish, and Russian as well as English. Catalogues can be obtained from the Publications Department, UNITAR, 801 UN Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017. The Institute also regularly publishes a journal, UNITAR News.

11 The first product of this concern will be a monograph analysing the 1974 World Food Conference. See Weiss, Thomas G. and Jordan, Robert S., The Importance of the World Food Conference: International Administration and Global Problems (New York: UNITAR, Spring 1976).Google Scholar

12 The wide publicity given to a paper critical of the United Nations recruitment record indicates that this is a topic of relevance. The paper, “The Politics of Staffing the United Nations Secretariat,” by Seymour Maxwell Finger and John Mugno was published in December 1974 by the Ralph Bunche Institute on the United Nations of the City University of New York. For some press reports, see “Job Recruitment at U.N. Assailed,” New York Times, 01 11, 1975Google Scholar, and “Report Hits ‘Pressure’ in U.N. Hiring Practices,” Washington Post, January 11,1975. See also a UNITAR paper, “What Has Happened to Our International Civil Service?” by Robert S. Jordan and John Renninger, Spring 1975.

13 General Assembly Resolution 3210 (S-VI).

14 Recent publications of the UNITAR, not referred to elsewhere, include Berhanykan Andemicael, The OAU and the UN: Relations Between the OAU and the United Nations (New York: Africana Publishing Corp., 1975)Google Scholar; Dedring, Juergen, Recent Advances in Peace and Conflict Research (Beverly Hills: Sage Publications, 1975)Google Scholar; Mensah-Brown, A.K. (ed.), African International Legal History (New York: UNITAR, 1975)Google Scholar; and Raman, K.V., The Ways of the Peace Maker (New York: UNITAR, 1975).Google Scholar

15 See Glaser, William A. with the assistance of Habers, G. Christopher, The Grain Drain and Study Abroad (New York: UNITAR, Fall 1975)Google Scholar. On UNITAR's brain drain project see Glaser, William A., “UNITAR's Project on the Brain Drain and Study Abroad,” International Development Review 16 (1974)Google Scholar. On the media see Alexander Szalai with Margaret Croke and Associates, The United Nations and the News Media (New York: UNITAR, 1973)Google Scholar. For a general discussion of trends in research on international organizations, see Cox, Robert W., “Perspectives and Problems,” in The Politics of International Organizations, ed. by Cox, Robert W. (New York: Praeger, 1969).Google Scholar

16 For example, the Institute's Deputy Executive Director and former Director of Studies, Dr. Oscar Schachter, is a past President of the American Society for International Law. The present Director of Research is on the Executive Committee of the Section on International and Comparative Administration of the American Society for Public Administration.

17 A UNITAR policy paper now being circulated by Weiss, Thomas and Jordan, Robert is The World Food Conference: A Re-evaluation of Two “Myths” Related to Developing Countries' Interests in Conference Diplomacy (UNITAR, Spring 1975).Google Scholar

18 See Cox and Mathiasen.

19 Both the Board of Trustees and the Executive Director are, however, appointed by the Secretary-General.

20 See Szalai, Alexander, The Situation of Women in the United Nations (New York: UNITAR, 1973)Google Scholar. For a discussion and reaction from some Secretariat officials see “Male Chauvinists of the World, Unite,” Washington Post, 03 3, 1974.Google Scholar

21 See Cox and Mathiasen.

22 UNITAR, Revised Budget Estimates for 1974 and Budget Estimates for 1975, memorandum of Executive Director, UNITAR/EX/R.52, 6 September 1974. The budget is somewhat larger than the sum of voluntary contributions because of donations from foundations and other private sources.

23 These countries in 1974 were Belgium, Canada, Federal Republic of Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and United States. The Soviet Union helps support the Institute by maintaining a rouble account payable to UNITAR and by engaging in cooperative activities under the general auspices of the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

24 General Assembly Resolution 1827 (XVII). The resolution was introduced by Denmark and was co-sponsored by Columbia, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Iran, Madagascar, Niger, Norway, the United Arab Republic, and joined by Mauritania, Chad, Senegal, Pakistan, Thailand, Nepal, Canada, and the United States.

25 See Report of the Second Committee on UNITAR, Document A/9839.

26 See General Assembly Resolution 3217 (XXIX).

27 UNITAR has always felt that it was important to provide facilities for former UN officials to come to UNITAR to write about their professional concerns in a way which perhaps they would never have had an opportunity to do while on active service. Also, serving UN officials are occasionally seconded to UNITAR on a form of study leave. For example, Martin Hill, former Assistant Secretary-General for Interagency Affairs, has published Towards Greater Order, Coherence and Co-ordination in the United Nations System (New York: UNITAR, 1974)Google Scholar; William Epstein, former Director of the Disarmament Division, is just completing his study tentatively entitled Last Chance to Control the Nuclear Arms Race; and Dr. Joseph Barnea, former Director of the Resources Division, has completed one UNITAR study, The Energy Crisis and the Future and one Conference Report, The United Nations, Energy and Raw Materials. Mr. Hill's and Mr. Epstein's projects were funded in part from grants from the Rockefeller Foundation.