UNDP, short for United Nations Development Program [ju ː na ɪ t ɪ d ne ɪ ʃ nz d ɪ veləpmənt prə ʊ Graem, English], world | development program, development program of the United Nations, UN special body for the financing and coordination of technical cooperation in the context of multilateral development aid, founded on November 22, 1965 by amalgamating the extended program for technical assistance (founded 1949) and the UN Special Fund (founded 1958); Headquarters: New York. The UNDP is subordinate to the UN General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, which also elects the 36 members of the UNDP Administrative Council. The UNDP administration is headed by an administrator. Since numerous projects are carried out together with other UN organizations, there is an advisory committee with representatives of other UN organizations (e.g. UNCTAD, UNIDO, World Bank) as a coordinating body. The budget (2013/14: regular budget of US $ 896 million and earmarked contributions of around US $ 7.6 billion) will be v. a. financed by voluntary contributions from the member countries. Various programs and special funds are assigned to the UNDP as defined on Abbreviationfinder. The main task of UNDP is to contribute to the realization of the Millennium Development Goals. The “Human Development Report” has been published annually since 1990. (Human Development Index)
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If peace is threatened but the Security Council does not immediately want to resort to military force, it may choose to impose sanctions. These are commitments for UN members. The Security Council often begins by banning all arms exports to a country or several countries in a conflict. If this does not lead to a change, the Council may call on the member states of the United Nations to suspend in whole or in part economic relations, such as trade, with the country. Other sanctions may affect the country’s communications with the outside world or cause diplomatic contacts to be suspended. Economic sanctions were imposed on the white government of Rhodesia, present-day Zimbabwe, in 1966. From the 1960’s onwards, sanctions against South Africa were also directed at apartheid. However, these sanctions were not mandatory, as the United Kingdom, The United States and France did not want to participate in binding decisions in the Security Council. It was not until 1977 that the Security Council introduced a mandatory ban on arms exports to South Africa.
In 1991, the Security Council decided for the first time on sanctions against a European country in the form of a ban on arms exports to the warring parties in the former Yugoslavia.
During the 1990’s, harsh criticism began to be leveled at the sanctions method. The critics pointed to the risk that it will be the civilian population in a country, not the responsible politicians, who are most affected by, for example, a ban on trade. In addition, such sanctions risk strengthening support for the incumbent regime and further diluting nationalist currents.
The sanctions against Iraq were particularly criticized. They were introduced after the country’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 but came to hit the civilian population hard instead of hitting Saddam Hussein and his regime. In the late 1990’s, a discussion began within the UN that sanctions should be refined so that they really hit the regime and not the people. The so-called oil-for-food program was launched in 1996 and enabled Saddam Hussein’s regime to sell oil in exchange for medicines, food and other needs of the population. The program would prevent the program from building up its military force while preventing the population from suffering sanctions. The program ended after the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It was later revealed that the oil-for-food program had been abused and led to a couple of billion dollars being paid in bribes to the Saddam regime. The UN Secretariat and Kofi Annan were criticized for failing to monitor the program. At the same time, it emerged that countries in the Security Council, such as the United States and the United Kingdom, were aware that the Iraqi government was enriching itself. By implication, however, this was a price one was willing to pay; in order for the program to continue, Saddam Hussein’s involvement was necessary.
During the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, the Security Council increasingly sought to make sanctions more “targeted” and “smart” so that only those responsible were affected. Sanctions were introduced to stop the illegal diamond trade in several African countries, including Liberia, Sierra Leone and later Côte d’Ivoire. The diamond trade was one reason why the conflicts in those countries were prolonged and exacerbated, as the proceeds were used to purchase large quantities of weapons. In other cases, the Security Council has introduced sanctions that have specifically aimed at accessing representatives of regimes. For example, the Taliban in Afghanistan had their bank accounts abroad blocked and suspected war criminals in Sudan’s Darfur province were banned from traveling.
Sanctions against North Korea in the autumn of 2006 after the country’s nuclear test in October of the same year banned, among other things, the import of military equipment and luxury goods. Following another nuclear test, the Security Council imposed a total arms embargo on the country in June 2009 and a North Korean rocket launch in December extended sanctions against the country to more companies and individuals. Following a third nuclear explosion in February 2013, the Security Council adopted new sanctions that particularly affected North Korea’s foreign trade and banking sector.
Iran’s alleged development of nuclear weapons has also been met with UN sanctions. In 2006, countries around the world were urged to prevent any material being sold to Iran that could be used in the development of missiles and nuclear technology, and foreign assets were blocked for a number of people working on the nuclear program. In the spring of 2007, increased sanctions were introduced, including for all Iranian arms exports, a recommendation to limit financial support and loans to Iran, and a blockade of assets abroad for a further number of Iranian officials and institutions. In 2008 and 2010, sanctions were further tightened (see also Iran).
At the end of 2006, the Security Council decided to set up a special office where individuals can appeal if they have been placed on UN lists of people to be sanctioned. There has previously been harsh criticism of the Security Council for not having had the opportunity for individuals to appeal that they have been placed on such a list. This has been the case, for example, with individuals who are alleged to be linked to the al-Qaeda terrorist network and have therefore been banned from traveling or have had their bank assets frozen.