Spending my formative years of higher
learning in the International Relations and Political Science
Department, it was quite common to get into a disparaging debate with
others about the perceived usefulness of the UN. The debate largely
came from the US perspective, where the UN was simply a periphery and
largely toothless actor, passing resolutions and actions that had
little impact in the real world. At best, it served a humanitarian
cause and gave an arena to discuss world issues. At worst, it
allowed the status-quo of North-South relations and was at the mercy
of a few power players.
While I was a defender of the UN, it
was hard not to recognize all the weaknesses and criticisms that
surrounded it. Failed attempts at an international scale due to US and other super power vetoing on issues like solving global warming (Kyoto
Protocol), humanitarian intervention (Sudan), or even something
simple as equal rights (LGBT or persons with disabilities)were hard to personally resolve.
But after spending three plus years in
Peru, the lenses changed slightly and I started understanding the UN
in a different light. Peru is a supporter of UN resolutions and in
fact uses them as basis and direction for their own national laws and
programs. Legal documents frequently site UN Resolutions,
Conventions, and Agreements as a legal base for other laws or
legislation. Furthermore, resolutions and agreements passed in the UN
are used to directly guide national agendas and laws. Even Peruvian
law and legislation is written in a remarkably similar style to UN
Resolutions with ambulatory clauses then moving on to declarations
and 'action items' (the meat of the legislation). This format could
be based on a previous template or rule style, or could simply be
common practice in other countries as well.
It makes sense on a lot of levels. For
one, with limited resources available, it's a form of outsourcing for
Peru to use the UN to write legislation that the country can later
adapt instead of having it clogging up the already congested Peruvian
bureaucracy. Most of what is passed in the UN is technical, as well
and considers marginalized populations, so that makes it passing in
Peru that much easier. Further, a mountain of international
organizations work in Peru; such as do-gooder NGOS, the United
Nations Development Program, UNICEF, UNESCO, but also 'hard'
organizations such as the International Labor Organization, the
International Court of Justice (country to country disputes), the
World Trade Organization. Operating under UN legislation makes it
easier for organizations to function under known framework – but
maybe that's a bit stretch as Peruvian bureaucracy and the legal
system are challenging. Regardless, with so many international
actors and organizations working with the Peruvian government, it
makes sense to be working under international norms and standards.
The Model UN Geek in me content, and
I'm sure Kent Kille is as well.
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