Linda Fasulo - An Insiders Guide to the UN

An Insiders Guide is my UN bible. Linda Fasulo knows all the right questions and brings back all the answers readers need to know to navigate the UN.Olivia Ward,Toronto Star

This unique book combines a solid guide to the workings of the United Nations with illuminating insights from credible and serious experts.Barbara Crossette, former New York Times bureau chief at the United Nations

A short-order account of how the organization works in the glare of its public profile and in the shadow of its secret negotiations.Times (London)

It is an excellent introduction to the work of the U.N. and a valuable tool for anyone who wants to understand the complexities of the Organization in a clear and highly readable style.Heraldo Muoz, former Ambassador of Chile to the United Nations

With fine journalistic clarity, the author leads readers through the complex organizational structure of the United Nations, shedding light on its mission, evolution, and controversies.... This concise, highly readable volume is an invaluable and essential source of information for general readers, report writers, and Model UN delegates.Christine C. Menefee,School Library Journal

On first glance, a generalists hoped-for introduction; on second glance, a specialists new and valued tool.Duncan McNiff, Foreign Policy Association (Editors Pick)

Fasulo has produced a living primer for those interested in finding their way around the UN. It is an excellent bookfull of solid fact and juicy opinionjust the kind of thing everyone wants to read.Shashi Tharoor, former UN Under-Secretary-General for Public Information

[A] wonderful insiders guide... packed with great information.John McLaughlin, TV host, The McLaughlin Group

Great education for newcomers as well as longtimers at the UN.Mark Malloch-Brown, former UN Deputy Secretary-General

A useful source for those seeking in-depth information about one of the international communitys most influential establishments at a time when its role and significance are very much in question.Publishers Weekly

Practical observations... , combined with Fasulos map of the UNs domains, will help the Model UN participants... as well as anyone who is interested in a basic overview of how the UN works.Booklist

This easily readable overview of the main activities of the United Nations system provides the reader with an appreciation of its complexity and of its many programs and agencies.James S. Sutterlin, author of The United Nations and the Maintenance of International Security

One of the best reference guides for those inside and outside the UN system. Fasulos guidebook meticulously lays out the inner workings of the UN systemfrom the Secretariat to the Security Councileven while covering topics as wide ranging as terrorism, peacekeeping, human rights and globalisation.... [Fasulos] book is not only an excellent reference guide... but also a voyage of discovery for the average American taxpayer who contributes to the upkeep of the world body.IPSInter Press Service

Selected by School Library as one of the best adult books for high school students.

AN INSIDERS GUIDE TO THE UN

THIRD EDITION

LINDA FASULO

Copyright 2003, 2009, 2015 by Linda Fasulo.

First edition 2003. Second edition 2009. Third edition 2015.

All rights reserved.

This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, in any form (beyond that copying permitted by Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Law and except by reviewers for the public press), without written permission from the publishers.

Yale University Press books may be purchased in quantity for educational, business, or promotional use. For information, please e-mail (U.K. office).

Set in Scala type by Integrated Publishing Solutions.

Printed in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Fasulo, Linda M.

An insiders guide to the UN / Linda Fasulo. Third edition.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-300-20365-3 (paperback)

1. United NationsPopular works. I. Title.

JZ4984.6.F37 2015

341.23dc23

2014023099

A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library.

This paper meets the requirements of
ANSI/NISO Z39.481992 (Permanence of Paper).

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Working as a news correspondent at the United Nations has given me a firsthand perspective on one of the worlds most high-profile and important organizations. Nowhere else in the world can you watch an international group of diplomats, officials, and experts discuss the great challenges of our day and make decisions that can affect our lives for years to come. Addressing threats to international peace and security, promoting human rights, combating poverty and disease, and reducing the risks of international terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction are among the big issues the UN can act on in a year.

Before the days decisions have been voted on at the UN, the agenda has been set and the diplomats and their staff have prepared themselves. Most disagreements have played out in relative privacy, and the public sees a polished performance. Many onlookers will accept this performance at face value and never give it another thought. For those who want to know more, who ask how the decisions were negotiated and reached and what their chances are for making a lasting impact, I have written this book, relying on my personal observations as well as the experiences and insights of other insiders.

Flags of member nations at the UN headquarters in New York City. UN Photo / Andrea Brizzi.

As the world has continued to change, so has the UN, which is experiencing a surge of activity as crises proliferate. In many of the recent crises we have seen a divided Security Council, where the United States and its allies, on the one hand, and Russia and China, on the other, have disagreed on how best to proceed. A prime example is the multiyear civil war in Syria. By the same token, the big powers have often agreed on increasing the number of the UNs peacekeeping missions and on expanding their purview to include human rights issues. Human rights have attracted increasing attention from member states as important aspects of ensuring and protecting peace within nations and also of enhancing the UNs efforts at social and economic development. The UN is also being asked to provide humanitarian aid much more frequently than before, in response to armed conflicts and to natural disasters like tsunamis and famines. Threats like international terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear and chemical weapons weigh ever more heavily on minds around the world. The UN has taken a more active role against terrorists and in the process has itself become a victim of terrorist attacks. Other global issues, such as climate change, are also rising in public awareness and in the UN. As a result, the UNs general operations are experiencing a rapid budget escalation.