New Book Release: ‘UN Ideas That Changed the World, Crucial Ideas That Shape the 21st Century’

'UN Ideas That Changed the World' is the capstone volume after 10 years of the UN Intellectual History Project. It sets the record straight that the UN has done significant work outside of peacekeeping, despite the misconception that it is an organization of "more talk than action." For instance, in 11 years, small pox was eradicated globally by countries working together. The book will be the object of two launches in the United States, on 14 September in NY and on 17 September in DC.

New York, NY (PRWEB) June 11, 2009 -- High on Barack Obama's agenda is resuscitating diplomacy, which includes resuming America's leadership role in the United Nations. And since 1999, the independent United Nations Intellectual History Project at The CUNY Graduate Center has scrutinized the UN's 65-year history to identify ideas that have proven crucial to improving the quality of life on our planet. "UN Ideas That Changed the World," by Richard Jolly, Louis Emmerij, and Thomas G. Weiss, is the culmination of this historic project.

The volume targets pivotal ideas that began in the United Nations and dramatically changed the thinking of the world. Though many people commonly identify peacekeeping as the UN's main contribution, the world organization's work in the economic and social arenas is among its most important accomplishments. Its achievements in these areas include:

The Human Development Report series, launched in 1990, put human beings first. The UN initiated the idea that development policies should place more value on improving the quality of people's lives and less on raw growth measured by G DP statistics. In the 1980s, it was thought that markets would solve the Third World's debt crisis, and so the IMF and World Bank imposed ruthless adjustment policies on developing countries. The UN's Economic Commission for Africa and UNICEF showed the adverse social consequences of such policies and advocated for "adjustment with a human face." This UN idea ensured that education and health expenditures were upheld in the process of reform.

UN policy ideas from the 1950s point the way out of the present economic and financial crisis. Three important reports showed why action for "underdeveloped" countries should be combined with global action to avoid international instability and recession. With a deep global recession and discussions of neo-Keynesian policies of economic stimulus, the time for these visionary ideas has arrived.

The UN's contributions to environmental debates have been revolutionary. Awareness of20climate change and the recognition that it is to a large extent human-made is a dramatic transformation of conventional wisdom. Though many scientists contributed to the new understanding, the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change provided much of the scientific authority. The panel shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore for its call for action, pointing out that it is not yet too late to forestall catastrophic climate change.

Disease control was advanced in 1966, when the World Health Assembly agreed to eradicate smallpox, which was accomplished in 11 years. This controversial decision was initially fought by many governments, who considered it intrusive and expensive. But the cost savings alone from avoiding vaccinations made the undertaking worthwhile. The issue of disease control is still with us. Viruses do not require visas, or as former UN secretary-general Kofi Annan refers to them, they are "problems without passports." This miracle of global cooperation saved millions of lives, and a similar logic could be applied again.

Gender equality has advanced since the UN Commission on the Status of Women was established in 1946 and the UN decided to evaluate women's contributions to the non-monetized sector, for example subsistence agriculture. After the first UN conference on women in Mexico City in 1975, women's issues expanded from an original focus on women in the West to the empowerment of poorer women. Two decades later at the 1995 Fourth UN World Conference on Women in Beijing, 17,000 nongovernmental organizations participated, most of them from poorer counties. UN global conferences fostered an appreciation for the economic value of women's work, which led to the promotion of basic women's rights, including reproductive health and education.

The Universal Declaration on Human Rights made fundamental human rights far more central to public policy and scrutiny. While the UN initially pursued peace and security and development separately from human rights goals, over time it became clear that all of these values are interconnected. Although the Universal Declaration itself is not enforceable, over time peer pressure and collecti ve embarrassment have helped advance human rights. In 1948, in a prophetic insight, Eleanor Roosevelt pointed to "a curious grapevine" that would make human rights penetrate all areas of international activity.

The 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm gathered countries to discuss sustainable development for the first time. The idea is that today's development policies and pursuits should not ruin prospects for subsequent generations--today's off-shore drilling today should not ruin tomorrow's coastal waters. The UN's Law of the Sea sought to limit what belongs to countries and what is the "common heritage of mankind." For instance, the betterment of the planet is weighed against the desire of a company to be the first one to stake out magnesium for 200 miles. Such changes in thinking began on a planetary level during debates in Stockholm and were solidified twenty years later at the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development in Rio.

Ideas like these were preoccupations in UN circles long before they were mainstream political concerns. At this crucial time, a far-sighted American political commitment can create a new generation of international organizations to accomplish the goals we need for humankind to survive with dignity on the planet.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:

Contact Susan Weinstein (212)645-4969

# # #