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Peace on earth The brainchild of American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, the United Nations (UN) was founded in 1945. It was created to foster international collaboration and to maintain peace and security. The organization is headed by a Secretary General and composed of six main organs, including the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the International Court of Justice (also known as the World Court), and the Secretariat. With the exception of the World Court, which is in the Netherlands, the UN's operations are based in New York. Fighting the good fight The work of the UN is supplemented through the efforts of 14 agencies that specialize in areas including health, agriculture, finance, and telecommunications. Together, the UN and its specialized agencies make up the UN system. Each division of the system helps to facilitate the UN's ultimate objectives: to fight disease and pollution, to promote democracy and human rights, to provide aid to developing countries, to help victims of war and natural disasters, and to improve global communications, trade, and economic reform. In addition, the UN has made strides in the development of improved agricultural techniques and educational programs for both children and adults in developing countries. Five time Nobel Peace Prize winner The organization carries out frequent peacekeeping missions (over 40 since 1948) and sends international troops to help developing countries hold elections, distribute food, and address human rights abuses. Over the years, the UN has created the Treaty for the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, written the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and designed the Declaration on Granting Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Since its founding, the organization and its divisions have been awarded five Nobel Peace Prizes - for assisting refugees, providing aid to children, establishing workers' rights and protections, and developing peacekeeping operations. Most recently, the UN ushered in an international treaty to ban land mines and created the world's first permanent tribunal to try war crimes, genocide, and other crimes against humanity. An impoverished UN? Since its founding, the UN has been plagued with financial woes, due largely to nonpayment and late payment of dues by Member States. This occurs for reasons ranging from budget-related issues to simple poverty. As of September 30, 1998, 100 of the 188 Member States owed the UN more than $2.5 billion in current and past dues. The United States owes $1.6 billion, which constitutes two-thirds of the total amount due. Since 1997, the organization has had to supplement its budget with money from its peacekeeping funds. The UN's strict 1998-99 budget resulted in the elimination of nearly 1,000 jobs, reducing the UN staff to 8,700 - down from 12,000 in the mid-1980s. Ironically, a number of the nations that pushed hardest for the cuts (including the U.S.) have yet to pay their share of the year's budget. Pay up America The United States owes so much in back dues that it stands to lose its General Assembly vote. In a January 1999 speech to the Center for National Policy, Madeline Albright acknowledged that "it is more than embarrassing" that the United States has not paid up its dues. Doubly so, considering that Japan, now the world's largest contributor to the UN, has kept its payments up to date despite a recession. The problem, Albright explains, is that while "there are huge pockets of support for the United Nations," there are a few issues stalling the process. First of all, some members of Congress claim that the UN actually owes money to Washington, and should write off some of the back dues. Furthermore, it has demanded further budget and staff cuts at the UN, plus a promise that the UN will not create a standby peacekeeping force - which would basically amount to an international army. UN member nations, not surprisingly, refuse to address these issues until the dues are paid up. Lastly, Congress refuses to pay the dues until anti-abortion restrictions are imposed on international family planning groups. International Spice Over the past few years, the UN's various organizations have been using celebrities to publicize their causes. For example, Secretary General Kofi Annan has anointed Magic Johnson, Muhammed Ali, Eli Wiesel, and Michael Douglas his "messengers for peace." Other big names selected to represent the UN include Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell, Japanese actress Keiko Kishi, and Finnish rocker Mikko Kuustonen. Who wants to save the world? Despite the international prestige that comes along with a position at the United Nations, recruitment and retention has become an acute problem. Salaries are not competitive with the private sector, other intergovernmental bodies or the foreign services of industrialized countries, and recent downsizing has reduced staff morale. The high number of vacant posts in certain regions is now a serious concern.
The recruiting process at the UN has always been highly competitive. Junior professionals and professionals are chosen from the candidates who take the National Competitive Recruitment Examinations. To qualify for junior professional position, applicants must have a BA degree and be 32 years old or younger. Those interested in positions as professionals need advanced degrees, four years of professional experience, and should be 39 years of age or younger. Interested parties should contact the UN's Examinations and Tests Section for information on applying and taking the recruitment exam. Polyglots interested in applying for positions as translators must first pass a UN language exam. The official languages of the Secretariat are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. Candidates should be able to interpret simultaneously into one of the six official languages and must have full auditory comprehension of at least two other official languages. The UN also sponsors an unpaid internship program for graduate students specializing in fields including economics, humanitarian and environmental affairs, journalism, translation and terminology, public policy, and women's studies. Consult the UN Web site at www.un.org for information on applying for jobs. Those interested in working for other divisions of the United Nations should contact the specific agencies for employment information. Additionally, there is a list of vacancies in International Organizations at http://www.vn.fi/vn/um/kyo/rekrylin.html.
Unimaginable range UN employees have the opportunity to meet and work with people from a "range of backgrounds unimaginable anywhere else," an opportunity that poses the "challenge of reconciling radically different approaches to problem solving." Though "women are a treated fairly," they "are in the minority." Insiders report that "the overall atmosphere is male-dominated," but add that things "are improving slowly." Many say the General Assembly has been making efforts to appoint and promote women. The employment section of the UN web site confirms that it plans to "[achieve] a more equitable balance of men and women in the Secretariat, particularly in top management positions." To that end, "equally qualified women will be given preference in recruitment." Money-minded While the work is usually "quite interesting," some say it's "not always exciting, and often dull and routine in nature." Contacts says that their co-workers, while "generally well-qualified," are "often interested more in money than in the real objectives of the organization." Fortunately, one insider believes "this problem has been changing with the infusion of new blood and early retirement of older staff." "Nefarious" bureacracy The culture at the UN is largely affected by the "nefarious" bureaucracy, but at least one source claims the atmosphere "is becoming more informal and less officious." Salaries are "reasonable," but "less than you would make in the corporate sector." Insiders do note that "the UN has one of the best pension plans around and is quite liberal with leave." In addition, "with most positions, there is considerable opportunity for travel." Recent hires say that the exposure to "international politics" as well as the prestige of working for "the world's most recognized symbol of global progress" is stimulating. Moreover, the multinational dimensions of their jobs are in a "different league from anything else." Working for the UN, says one enthralled insider, "is not so much a job as a mission." The lowdown on language "There is a tendency for people to congregate in national, regional, or ethnic groups," says one source, "which is not necessarily bad, as it helps keep them in touch with their culture and language." Another insider adds that "there is an overhead that the U.N. pays for being a multicultural organization. Sometimes people aren't so quick to understand certain concepts: there's the real written language, and then there's the implicit language."
Office of Human Resources Management Room S-25551 New York NY 10017
Aid to developing and war-torn nations; Agricultural and medical research; Educational programs for children and adults
Disease; Poverty; Ignorance; Nations bent on ethnic cleansing More Company Profiles For more career information, go to Vault.com ©2000, Vault.com Inc
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