1. INTRODUCTION TO THE UNITED NATIONS AND UNCTAD
Manuela Tortora
Chief, Technical Cooperation Service
UNCTAD

2. THE EVOLUTION OF MULTILATERALISM
Collective security was the main function of the League of Nations
Limited economic and social cooperation: role of the ILO
Collective security + economic and social cooperation are the main functions of the UN
Bretton Woods, UN specialised agencies
60’s-70’s Development becomes a key UN activity
UNDP, UNCTAD, many UN programmes devoted to development
2005-… Security + development + human rights:
3 pillars of the current UN reform

3. THE EVOLUTION OF MULTILATERALISM
DEVELOPMENT
(environment,
social,
humanitarian,
economic)
IMF/World Bank?
WTO?
SCOPE OF MULTILATERALISM
IMF/World Bank
GATT 3
Social/
Humanitarian/
DEVELOPMENT
entities
(UNCTAD,UNDP)
IMF/World Bank
GATT
HUMAN
RIGHTS
Social/
Humanitarian
Entities 2
Human
rights
Human
rights
Collective security
(Security
Council)
Collective security
(Security
Council)
COLLECTIVE SECURITY
and
Peace building
Econ./Social
Issues (ILO) 1 1
Collective security
East-West
North-South
tensions
Charter/spec.agen.
BWIs+GATT
League of
Nations
2005-…
UN Reform
(3 pillars?)

4. The Three UNs: 1st UN(*) Governments (*) R.Jolly, L.Emmerij, T.Weiss,
Source: UN Photo Archives
Governments
(*) R.Jolly, L.Emmerij, T.Weiss,
UN Ideas that Changed the World.
2009

5. The Three UNs: 2nd UN(*)
Source: UN Photo Archives
Staff members

6. The Three UNs: 3rd UN(*)
Source: UN Photo Archives
Experts, members of commissions, and NGOs closely associated with the UN

7. Interaction Among Three UNs(*)
A: International and national civil servants’ interactions B: State-civil society interactions
C: Secretariat-civil society interactions
D: The networked space within which individuals and private organizations interact with the 1st UN and the 2nd UN to influence or advance UN thinking, policies, priorities, or actions

8. Ideas generated by the multilateral institution do not evolve in a linear way but rather as a spiral:
Two steps forward, one step backwards…

9. 4 Ways Ideas Matter to Global Values and Norms(*)
Ideas changing the way issues are perceived
Ideas redefining state and non-state interests and goals: Setting agendas for action
Ideas mobilizing coalitions to press for action
Ideas becoming embedded in institutions

10. A Balance Sheet of the UN’s Contributions: The Positives(*)
Promoting human rights for all
Providing an international framework for national development policies
Setting global goals
Quantifying the world
Changing the debate about trade and development
Proposing development policies that combine economic growth with poverty reduction
Bringing issues of environment and development to global attention, especially global warming
Promoting preventive diplomacy & human security
Promoting the human development approach

11. Negatives on the Balance Sheet(*)
Late reaction to the Washington Consensus
Weak response to the special needs of the least developed countries
Too little done to introduce cultural aspects into the development equation
Tardy and weak reaction to HIV/AIDS
Inadequate attention inequalities of income and wealth, nationally & internationally

12. A Summary of the UN’s Contributions(*)
The balance sheet shows a small surplus
The UN has led the way with many fundamental ideas, more than is often realized
The UN has often been ahead of the World Bank and the IMF – though these have received most donor support and most finance
Ideas may be among the UN’s most important contributions

13. Dag Hammarskjöld
“The UN wasn’t set up to bring mankind to heaven but to save it from hell”

14. WITHIN THIS CONTEXT….
let’s focus on UNCTAD…

15. UN Economic Ideas Have Often Differed from the World Bank’s and the IMF’s(*)
Fairer international economic relations
National development strategies
Development goals
Social development

16. Two multilateral organisations dealing with trade: UNCTAD and WTO More differences than similarities:
The origins
The mandates
The institutional functioning
The thinking on trade and development
The strengths and weaknesses

17. THE ORIGINS From GATT to WTO UNCTAD: 1964
Keynes’ ideas on post-war international economic governance
The Bretton Woods agreements (1944)
1947: the ITO, the Havana Charter and the GATT
GATT Rounds of trade negotiations until the Uruguay Round ( )
1995: WTO is established outside the UN system
UNCTAD: 1964
The context of North-South and East-West tensions
Non-Aligned Movement and Group of 77
The link between trade and development (Prebisch thinking)
1st UNCTAD Ministerial Conference in Geneva;
Permanent secretariat established

18. Integrated treatment of trade, investment and related issues=
THE MANDATE
WTO
Rules-based organisation, negotiates binding multilateral trade law (“legislative” role)
Dispute settlement mechanism with mandatory decisions, can apply sanctions (“judicial” role)
Mandate confined to the existing trade agreements and to the scope of the negotiations
UNCTAD:
Integrated treatment of trade, investment and related issues=
wide mandate
Research on trade and development issues
Consensus-building through intergovernmental machinery
Technical cooperation on all the topics of UNCTAD work

19. STRENGHTS AND WEAKNESSES
WTO
Binding trade law
Powerful “judicial” mechanism
BUT
Increasing complexities of multilateral negotiations
Increasing regional and bilateral trade agreements
UNCTAD
Trust and credibility among developing countries
Independent research
BUT
Only a political role (no “teeth”)
Limited human and financial resources

20. UNCTAD ideas Influenced by development theories of center/periphery
Deterioration of the terms of trade
Unfair and asymmetric international economic relations
Need for international policies and rules to address these asymmetries: Special and differential treatment (trade preferences, exceptions, longer periods of adjustment…)
Non-tariff barriers
External debt : sustainability, reduction formulas
Trade in services
Positive agenda in trade negotiations
Policy space
No one size fits all

21. UNCTAD thinking is :
“Outside the mainstream economics” of the Bretton Woods Institutions
Close to the concerns of developing countries’ policy makers
Part of the UN multidisciplinary, broad approach to development