Committees
Disarmament and International Security Council
The committee considers all disarmament and international security matters within the scope of the Charter or relating to the powers and functions of any other organ of the United Nations. Therefore it is mainly concerned with issues pertaining to disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community and thus seeks out solutions to the challenges in the international security regime. All member nations have equal voting rights on resolutions apart from observer nations. Voting on these resolutions in DISEC is decided by a simple majority whether in favor or not of the resolution being discussed.
Aims/Purpose
The United Nations established the DISEC committee with the purpose of serving as a forum for all representatives of member countries of the UN so that they are able to debate on various issues related to security and disarmament in an environment where equality prevails. It has been stated in the UN Charter that the committee has to consider the general principles related to cooperation for maintaining security and peace at an international level. However, DISEC does not possess power for authorized intervention of arms or imposing sanctions, unlike the Security Council.
Among the most notable accomplishments of the DISEC are successful promotion, enforcement, and verification of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons; the establishment of Nuclear Weapons Free Zones in Antarctica, Latin America, the South Pacific, Africa and Central Asia; and the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which bans the testing of nuclear weapons in outer space and under water.
Econmic and Financial Affairs Council
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) is one of the oldest configurations of the Council of the European Union and is composed of the economics and finance ministers of the 28 European Union member states, as well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed.
ECOFIN often works with the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs and the President of the European Central Bank.
The Council covers a number of EU policy areas, such as economic policy coordination, economic surveillance, monitoring of Member States' budgetary policy and public finances, the euro (legal, practical and international aspects), financial markets and capital movements and economic relations with third countries. It also prepares and adopts every year, together with the European Parliament, the budget of the European Union which is about €145 bn.
The council meets once a month and decides mainly by qualified majority, in consultation or codecision with the European Parliament, with the exception of fiscal matters which are decided by unanimity. When the Ecofin Council examines dossiers related to the euro and EMU, the representatives of the Member States whose currency is not the euro do not take part in the vote of the Council.
ECOFIN delegates some of its tasks to the Code of Conduct Group.
United Nations Security Council, Counter Terrorism Committee
The Counter-Terrorism Committee is a subsidiary body of the United Nations Security Council.
In the wake of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 1373, which, among its provisions, obliges all States to criminalize assistance for terrorist activities, deny financial support and safe haven to terrorists and share information about groups planning terrorist attacks.
The 15-member Counter-Terrorism Committee was established at the same time to monitor implementation of the resolution. While the ultimate aim of the Committee is to increase the ability of States to fight terrorism, it is not a sanctions body nor does it maintain a list of terrorist groups or individuals.
While the Counter-Terrorism Committee is not a direct capacity provider it does act as a broker between those states or groups that have the relevant capacities and those in the need of assistance.
Seeking to revitalize the Committee’s work, in 2004 the Security Council adopted Resolution 1535, creating the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) to provide the CTC with expert advice on all areas covered by resolution 1373. CTED was established also with the aim of facilitating technical assistance to countries, as well as promoting closer cooperation and coordination both within the UN system of organizations and among regional and intergovernmental bodies.
During the September 2005 World Summit at the UN, the Security Council – meeting at the level of Heads of States or Government for just the third time in its history – adopted Resolution 1624 concerning incitement to commit acts of terrorism. The resolution also stressed the obligations of countries to comply with international human rights laws.
The leaders also resolved to conclude work on the draft comprehensive convention on international terrorism, including a legal definition of terrorist acts, during the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. This achievement would mark the culmination of years of negotiation and debate on various proposals, including those contained in Secretary-General Kofi Annan's report, “In Larger Freedom.” In this document, he called urgently for the adoption of a definition of terrorism similar to that contained in the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, which states “that the targeting and deliberate killing of civilians and non-combatants cannot be justified or legitimized by any cause or grievance, and that any action intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants, when the purpose of such an act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population or to compel a government or an international organization to carry out or to abstain from any act cannot be justified on any grounds and constitutes an act of terrorism.”
United Nations Entity for Gender Equality
The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women, also known as UN Women, is a United Nations entity working for the empowerment of women.
UN Women became operational in January 2011. Former President of Chile Michelle Bachelet was the inaugural Executive Director, and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is the current Executive Director. As with UNIFEM previously, UN Women is a member of the United Nations Development Group.
In response to the UN General Assembly resolution 63/311, in January 2006 the Secretary-General presented the report A/64/588, entitled Comprehensive Proposal for the Composite Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. In his report, the Secretary-General resolved that, rather than relieving other parts of the United Nations system of their responsibility for contributing to the promotion of gender equality and women's empowerment, the new entity should seek to sharpen the focus and impact of the gender equality activities of the entire United Nations system.
UN Women is empowered to:
● Support intergovernmental bodies, such as the Commission on the Status of Women, in their formulation of policies, global standards, and norms,
● Help UN member states implement the above standards, standing ready to provide suitable technical and financial support to those countries that request it and to forge effective partnerships with civil society,
● Enable member states to hold the UN system accountable for its own commitments on gender equality, including regular monitoring of system-wide progress.
United Nations Environment Programme
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is an agency of United Nations and coordinates its environmental activities, assisting developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices. It was founded by Maurice Strong, its first director, as a result of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) in June 1972 and has its headquarters in the Gigiri neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya. UNEP also has six regional offices and various country offices.
UNEP has overall responsibility for environmental problems among United Nations agencies but talks on addressing global warming are overseen by the Bonn-based Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its activities cover a wide range of issues regarding the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental governance and green economy. It has played a significant role in developing international environmental conventions, promoting environmental science and information and illustrating the way those can be implemented in conjunction with policy, working on the development and implementation of policy with national governments, regional institutions in conjunction with environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). UNEP has also been active in funding and implementing environment related development projects.