Klaus Hüfner Libri

Money is not everything, but without money, all is nothing. Since 2011, all regular budget plans of UNESCO lapsed. Why? The United States decided not to pay their share to the regular budget because of the admission of Palestine as a member state. This political decision has serious consequences for the continued existence of the organization. Because the financial crisis shows not only a structural crisis but also a survival crisis of UNESCO. Nevertheless, no one dares to question the current structure. Among other things, the author proposes: given the multiplicity of heterogeneous tasks of UNESCO it is essential to reduce and concentrate them. UNESCO should act as a think tank with in the United Nations system and link the world of states and the specialized NGOs. Klaus Hüfner calls for a stronger commitment of the member states for and with in UNESCO in order to preserve the organization from decay.

In dieser knappen und gut lesbaren Einführung stehen die Sonderorganisationen der Vereinten Nationen im Mittelpunkt. Klaus Hüfner porträtiert alle 17 Organisationen: jene mit breiten ökonomischen, sozialen oder kulturellen Aufgaben (Ernährung, Arbeit, Bildung, Industrialisierung und Gesundheit), die sogenannten technischen (z. B. für internationale Zivilluftfahrt, internationales Fernmeldewesen und weltweiten Postverkehr) sowie die währungs- und finanzpolitischen Sonderorganisationen. Einem kurzen Überblick zur Entstehung der jeweiligen Organisation folgen Angaben zu ihren allgemeinen Zielsetzungen, zu Aufbau, Arbeitsweise und Finanzierung (letztere mit besonderem Augenmerk auf die Beiträge Deutschlands). Ein kurzer Ausblick auf anstehende Aufgaben mit Bezügen zur UN-Agenda 2030 für nachhaltige Entwicklung, anschauliche Diagramme, übersichtliche Tabellen, umfassende Literaturhinweise sowie die Anschriften aller Sonderorganisationen und der jeweils verantwortlichen Bundesministerien runden den Band ab.

In these times of increasing public budgetary constraints and of shifting governmental priorities, a keen interest in efficiency problems in higher education can be observed not only in the Federal Republic of Germany, but also in many other Western European countries. Problems of the internal economics of institutions of higher education are an integral part of the economics of higher education; issues of how to identify and measure inputs and outputs, costs and returns, are clearly related to productivity and efficiency concepts in higher education.

Since its foundation, the United Nations is confronted with heavy financial problems. The payment morale of fulfilling the membership dues is extremely low. The author offers an overview of the methods and scope used to finance the activities of the UN. The main focus is on the mandatory funding of the UN Organization and of its peace-keeping activities. Furthermore, the quantity and the quality of voluntary contributions to seven UN Special Funds and Programmes are analysed. It shows that the unbalanced move towards earmarked contributions for specified programmes, projects or countries change the working character of the UN. In addition, innovative financing sources presented by the UN Secretary-Generals and by experts are presented and discussed. An overview about the financing of UN Specialized Agencies and a finance tableau about the whole UN system are given in an appendix. Also, the book includes a glossary which contains technical and institutional terms.

On the one hand, the United States is “Number One” as contributor to the UN regular budget as well as to the budgets of the UN peacekeeping operations. On the other hand, the United States is also the largest debtor caused by either partially or fully deferred payments. This leads to a vicious circle: Large amounts of unpaid assessed contributions cause tremendous administrative difficulties for the programme budgeting activities of the UN. Also, many UN Specialized Agencies suffer under the US financial behaviour. The United States is in favour of shifting from assessed to voluntary contributions. Since most of them are restricted to specific projects or countries, this would imply that the US as the most important donor of voluntary contributions would also become the dominant decision-maker in the UN. The author analyses the funding behaviour of the United States over the last decades and shows that financial leverages are an inherent policy tool of the US vis-à-vis the UN.

The 50th anniversary of the United Nations Organisation is commemorated in 1995. The UN emerged at the end of the most bloody war in the history of contemporary civilization and it is understandable that its founding fathers were concerned first and foremost with the need „to save succeeding gen erations from the scourge of war.“ This great historical mission of the new international organisation was determined and designed by the allied powers that had won the war against the „enemy states.“ Cooperation of the perma nent members of the UN Security Council was the basic element of the effi ciency of post -war system of international peace and security. Apart from this main mission, the founding fathers of the United Nations declared their determination „to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and to promote social prog ress and better standards of life in larger freedom“ (preamble, UN Charter).

On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the German United Nations Association together with the German Commission for UNESCO decided to publish a manual on how the existing UN human rights mechanisms and procedures function and how they can be used more effectively by individuals/victims of human rights violations as well as by NGOs in the field of human rights. This manual is the third enlarged and updated edition of the 1998 publication which serves as a basis for further translations and national publications. It is written for individuals and NGOs with the intention of offering practical guidance and of increasing the still lacking transparency. It includes, inter alia, important addresses, charts describing the different procedures and model forms for communications.

Die Entwicklung der Beziehung zwischen Deutschland und der UNO wird umfassend beleuchtet, beginnend mit der "Quasi-Mitgliedschaft" der Bundesrepublik seit 1950. Der Autor analysiert die aktive Rolle Deutschlands in UN-Sonderorganisationen und die finanzielle Unterstützung, die maßgeblich zur Verhinderung der DDR-Mitgliedschaft beitrug. Mit der Aufnahme beider deutscher Staaten 1973 ändert sich die Dynamik, wobei die Bundesrepublik bis 1990 als wirtschaftlich dominierend hervorsticht. Die Studie umfasst auch die deutsche UN-Politik zu Themen wie Menschenrechten und Friedenskonsolidierung bis hin zu aktuellen Herausforderungen.

Es liegt keine ausführliche Beschreibung für "Zwanzig Jahre Vereinte Nationen" vor.