The UN General Assembly and G-20 Summit

[Netto Azure]

Yeah, it still saddens me when I see that people either don't know about the United Nations or simply undercut it as an ineffective institution. One has to realize though that it derives it's powers from the consent of the member states, rather than a top-down approach of the US type. =/

Obama urges world to stand united

US President Barack Obama used his first UN address to urge world unity

"We must build new coalitions that bridge old divides... All nations have rights and responsibilities - that's the bargain that makes this work"
US President Barack Obama - UN General Assembly​

US President Barack Obama has said the world must face stark challenges, and the US cannot tackle them alone.

In his first speech to the UN General Assembly, he said global problems included nuclear proliferation, war, climate change and economic crisis.
But the world shared a "common future", Mr Obama said, with all nations bearing responsibility to resolve its problems.
He was followed by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who criticised the major powers on the Security Council.
Mr Gaddafi's speech, which continued for more than an hour, was his first address to the UN General Assembly during his 40 years in power.
Relatives of victims of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing protested outside the UN headquarters as Col Gaddafi was due to arrive. The Libyan convicted of the bombing was released from a Scottish prison last month.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has previously said he does not believe the Holocaust happened, is due to speak later on Wednesday.
Israel has called for a boycott of his appearance and the Germans have said they will walk out if he repeats the claim.

'Act together'

In his maiden speech to the forum of leaders from more than 120 nations, Mr Obama acknowledged the expectations that accompanied his presidency - expectations, he said, which were "not about me".
He said that when he took office, "many around the world had come to view America with scepticism and mistrust".
He said some of this was based on "misperceptions" but it was also due to "opposition to specific policies".
But Mr Obama said "no world order which elevates one nation above others" could succeed in tackling the world's problems.
"Those who used to chastise America for acting alone in the world cannot now stand by and wait for America to solve the world's problems alone," he said.
"We must build new coalitions that bridge old divides... All nations have rights and responsibilities - that's the bargain that makes this work."
The president devoted a significant proportion of his speech to the challenges of finding a peaceful settlement in the Middle East - and called for the relaunch of "negotiations without preconditions".
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent, Jonathan Marcus, says Mr Obama used his first speech to the General Assembly to signal that the United States was back as a team player on the international stage.
His speech received warm but not effusive applause, a sign perhaps that in the face of real world problems the expectations surrounding the president are gradually being adjusted to reality, our correspondent says.

Dang this reminds me of a State of the Union adress. XD
​

UN council endorses nuclear curbs
​

The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for nuclear disarmament, in a session chaired by US President Barack Obama.

The resolution calls for further efforts to stop the spread of nuclear arms, to boost disarmament and to lower the risk of "nuclear terrorism".
It was the first time a US president had chaired a Security Council summit.
The resolution comes amid growing concerns among Western powers over Iran's nuclear ambitions.
"The historic resolution we just adopted enshrines our shared commitment to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons," Mr Obama told the Security Council after the resolution was adopted.
He said the next year would be "absolutely critical in determining whether this resolution and our overall efforts to stop the spread and use of nuclear weapons are successful".
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called the resolution "a fresh start toward a new future".

 

[twocows]

The UN is ineffective for the most part. Good intentions do not necessarily produce good results. They send peacekeepers to places that are more or less war-zones without weapons, and then leave once their people start dying (who would have seen that coming). The much-touted "security council" is useless; IIRC, any one country can veto any proposal and that decision cannot be overridden, not to mention the only members with any real say on that council are the so-called major powers. The UN could be great, but as it stands, it's useless.

This nuclear disarmament resolution is basically just a statement saying everybody wishes there were fewer nuclear weapons. None of the major power actually have to obey it, and I'm guessing many won't; why should they, when there is practically no enforceability of anything the UN passes?

 

[.little monster]

None of the major power actually have to obey it, and I'm guessing many won't; why should they, when there is practically no enforceability of anything the UN passes?

Actually, almost all of the major powers have agreed to obey it. Even Russia.

(The reason I said "Even Russia" is because people still think it's a Communist nation chasing after nuclear weaponry. :/)

 

[twocows]

Actually, almost all of the major powers have agreed to obey it. Even Russia.

(The reason I said "Even Russia" is because people still think it's a Communist nation chasing after nuclear weaponry. :/)

They usually do agree to obey it, and then they break that agreement because there's no enforceability.

 

[Netto Azure]

They usually do agree to obey it, and then they break that agreement because there's no enforceability.

Well yes it is quite weak in enforcement, but as I said, it derives it's powers from the consent of the member states, and I highly doubt countries would want to give up their "national sovereignty" to "a bureaucratic nightmare." Heck even Europeans deride the EU. >.>

But meh, there should at least be (IMO) an international organization that coordinates basic laws, and the UN is the current one we have. =/

Leaders gathering for G20 summit

Protesters have been assembling in Pittsburgh

World leaders are meeting in the US city of Pittsburgh later as the two-day G20 summit gets under way.
Economic stability, financial regulation, climate change and bankers' bonuses are set to top the agenda.
With many major economies beginning to climb out of recession - attention will turn to when and how to withdraw government stimulus packages.
Meanwhile, reports said riot police had fired tear gas at protesters on a march towards the G20 summit venue.
Thousands of extra police are on duty, as officials prepare for demonstrations by activists.
The previous G20 meeting, in London in April, was marred by clashes between police and protesters.
The leaders are gathering after the UN general assembly in New York, and are due to meet for a working dinner on Thursday evening.
IMF debate
A spokesman for the White House said that financial regulatory reform was the most important agenda item for summit, but that addressing global economic imbalances was also a priority.
President Barack Obama has led a campaign to smooth out imbalances in the flow of global capital to try to secure greater long-term economic stability.
The US proposal calls on economies such as China, Brazil and India to boost domestic consumption in order to lower their trade surpluses.
Meanwhile the US and Europe would encourage more saving to reduce long-term budget deficits.
Other discussions will involve the continuation of talks over whether countries such as China, India and Brazil should have greater say on the board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
'Party over'
Cracking down on bankers' bonuses has popular appeal with the public, and so it is expected that an agreement will be reached on how that might be achieved.
There will also be talks on "regulatory harmonisation" - making sure that countries do not try to attract investment by offering looser rules.
Earlier, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling warned bankers that the "party was over" and they must realise that the world has changed.
He wants a limit on bonuses and rules to allow banks to be able to get them back if bankers make losses later.
And he said there was a limit to how much could be achieved by regulation and that bankers must realise that they have to change their behaviour.
Mr Darling wants to use regulations to force banks to limit the proportion of their profits that they can give out in bonuses and make sure there are no rewards for failure.

WHAT IS THE G20? ​

Set up after the Asian financial crisis in 1999 as a forum for finance ministers and central bankers
First G20 leaders summit in 2008 to discuss response to economic crisis
Twenty official members joined by Spain and the Netherlands and representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization

 

[twocows]

There is no order without accountability. Member states can and do say that they're committed to peace and disarmament, and then when something arises that's mildly threatening to them, they go and break it. I just don't understand how an organization that does nothing but make a loose set of rules masquerading as laws can be anything but a waste of resources. I mean, encouraging cooperation is good, but that alone can't be the sole reason for the UN's existence?

 

[Netto Azure]

Yay G-20?

There is no order without accountability. Member states can and do say that they're committed to peace and disarmament, and then when something arises that's mildly threatening to them, they go and break it. I just don't understand how an organization that does nothing but make a loose set of rules masquerading as laws can be anything but a waste of resources. I mean, encouraging cooperation is good, but that alone can't be the sole reason for the UN's existence?

Well I agree with you there. But yeah, domestic politics really does affect the strength of the UN. Seriously how can people actually expect an institution that can act accordingly if it does not have the strength? The UN is more akin to the US Articles of Confederation more than anything. =/ And we knew how that went...

Anyways the G-20 is now the official forum for economic issues rather than the G-7/8.

Obama hails 'tough regulations'

The G20 will now take the lead in reforming the global economy

The world's leading nations have agreed "tough new regulations" to prevent another global financial crisis, US President Barack Obama has said.

The G20 group of leading and emerging economies will become a permanent body co-ordinating the world economy.
Global leaders also announced a deal to shift the balance of voting in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) towards growing nations such as China.
The G20 is meeting in the US city of Pittsburgh for a two-day summit.
It will take on the role previously carried out by the developed powerhouses of the G8 group.
"We have taken bold and concerted action to forge a new framework for strong, sustainable and balanced growth," said US President Barack Obama.
"We have agreed tough new financial regulations to ensure that the reckless few can no longer be allowed to put the global financial system at risk."
He said that leading nations would now be allowed to assess each others' economic policies.
Mr Obama added that the leaders had agreed rules to ensure that executive pay would be linked to long term financial performance.
Many have criticised excessive bonuses as encouraging the kind of short term risk taking that contributed to the financial crisis.

'Fudging it'

"We designated the G20 to be the premier forum for our international economic co-operation," a statement by the G20 leaders said following the summit.
They added that they would shift "at least 5%" of the quota of votes within the IMF from "over-represented countries to under-represented countries".
It described under-represented countries as "dynamic emerging markets and developing countries".
Emerging economies will also get a greater say at the World Bank.
The leaders also pledged to continue pumping money into their economies until "a durable recovery is secured".
But there will be no formal announcement that the G20 will replace the G8 until 2011, said the BBC's economics editor Stephanie Flanders.
"The leaders would have liked formally to announce the handover today in Pittsburgh, but the Canadians - who are chairing the G8 next year - kicked up such a fuss that they had to fudge it," she said.
There will now be a G20 meeting on the sidelines of Canada's G8 Summit next June, where most of the economic business of the day will be discussed. But, formally at least, the economic side of the G8 will live on another year.
BBC business editor Robert Peston said that the rich nations of North America and Europe formally acknowledging that they no longer have a monopoly of wisdom on what's good for the global economy would be the most important thing to come out of this summit.

'Distrust'

The IMF has 186 member-states. It lends money to countries that are facing problems, but in return economic changes have to be made by those countries.
Currently, China wields 3.7% of IMF votes compared with France's 4.9%, although the Chinese economy is now 50% larger than that of France.
The IMF has been criticised in the past as being a group of developed countries trying to lay down the law to struggling, developing countries, which is why the decision to give growing nations more votes is important.
"If you talk to the Chinese or talk to anyone from emerging markets they say the IMF doesn't have legitimacy and... we don't trust the IMF to come and rescue us in a crisis," Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF, told the BBC.
"They don't trust it because it's US and West Europe-dominated. That's not fair... and the IMF doesn't function properly as a result."

'New systems'

Nobel prize-winning economist Amartya Sen welcomed the change in voting rights, but said that, "on their own, they won't be able to achieve much... It's not just a question of voting rights, but also a question of broadening the dialogue".
Reports also suggest that the US is seeking a reduction in the number of seats on the IMF board from 24 to 20, which could mean the UK and France lose their seats.
In a speech earlier on Friday, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed the agreements made at the summit.
"The old systems of international economic co-operation are over, new systems... have begun," he told a news conference.
"I believe that is a very important development that will reassure people that the world economy will be better prepared for all future events and will work in harmony to create the jobs and growth and prosperity that is needed for the future."

 

[mervyn797]

and they force India to sign NPT..