Summary
Vision and values
Norway has a fundamental interest in a well-functioning global legal order in which right prevails over might, and where relations between states are governed by binding standards, conventions and legislation. The UN’s normative function means that the UN system plays a key role in upholding and promoting the international legal order, which in turn promotes peace and human rights. The Organisation is an important political arena for Norway, and the knowledge it generates provides a basis for national and international policy. The UN is an important partner in development, state-building and global crisis management. The legitimacy deriving from its virtually universal membership gives it a unique position among international organisations.
Norway’s work in the UN has a long-term perspective. By building alliances, adopting a strategic approach and being willing to contribute financial support, we have generally succeeded in gaining acceptance for our interests and priorities. This applies particularly to areas where we have experience that is in demand in the UN and its member states.
Norway’s UN policy in a changing world
The international legal order and the UN’s global role cannot be taken for granted. Geopolitical changes, global challenges and lack of political and financial stability impose new demands on international cooperation and on the UN’s ability to adapt and take on new tasks. The present white paper sets out the Government’s UN policy in the new era.
Today’s challenges are more complex than they were in 1945, when the UN was founded. This calls for a greater capability to manage complexity and to link agendas with responses. Another challenge is that some countries perceive the existing structures as a mechanism that continues and enhances the influence of the traditional major powers. Furthermore, the UN is facing greater competition. New, informal groups like the G20, regional organisations, civil society and also private actors are becoming increasingly prominent in the international arena. There is a growing gap between global challenges, the member states’ willingness to seek solutions and collectively finance new and existing measures and institutions, and the UN system’s capacity and ability to address the challenges.
The UN agenda and its framework conditions are influenced by a number of global trends such as population growth, urbanisation, growing disparities between and within countries, migration, pressure on financial contributions resulting from the international financial crisis, and technological developments that are driving change. The UN’s future relevance depends largely on whether it can adapt to these developments and address the challenges they represent.
We are heading for a multipolar world. New major powers are emerging and demanding an international system that reflects the realities of today and not the balance of power of 1945. Unless UN reform is perceived as making the Organisation more representative, some new major powers may decide to seek other solutions. One of the challenges for a future world order is to make international organisations more relevant for these emerging powers. The UN therefore needs to identify its strengths and decide on the role it will occupy in global governance. In our view the Organisation needs to concentrate more closely on the partnership dimension, especially with regional organisations and international financial institutions.
In a continually changing landscape, cooperation must be sought on a case-by-case basis, and Norway must seek opportunities to build strong coalitions on issues we have defined as being in our interests. Some alliances are lasting, such as those with other Western countries, especially the Nordic countries. However, geopolitical changes are making closer cooperation with other countries, including emerging powers, more important. At the same time Norway intends to actively support the least developed countries and fragile states. New alliances must be formed both outside and within the UN system.
Norway will pursue a predictable and recognisable policy, with a clear, consistent voice across different forums. We will provide resources, both financial and human, that will move our priorities higher up the agenda.
Norway will draw attention to the need for reform, and we have supported several important reforms that have strengthened and modernised the UN. However, there are still many parts of the UN system that need to be made more effective.
New tasks are continually being imposed on the UN system, new organisations are being established and the system is growing. The member states have a general responsibility for management of the UN, and must show the ability and political will to decide on necessary reforms. Norway will continue to be a driving force for modernising and strengthening the Organisation. In these efforts there are three bottlenecks in particular: funding, leadership and partnership.
Peace and security
The main objective of the UN’s activities is to promote peace and security. The current security challenges are far more complex than those existing at the time the UN Charter was signed. However, the UN has more tools at its disposal than any other organisation, and this makes it the most important actor in the work for global peace and security.
The UN is still the only global body that can authorise the use of force. The events in Libya and Syria have shown that when a crisis arises the world turns to the UN and the Security Council. What the UN achieves in such situations depends on a handful of powerful member states: the permanent members of the Security Council. Reform of the Security Council is therefore a crucial issue for many emerging powers. Norway considers that in principle the Council needs a fundamental reform. The main goal must be to ensure that it has the necessary effectiveness and legitimacy to address threats to international peace and security, while at the same time reflecting the global balance of power and becoming more representative. Permanent regional representation is one possibility. As long as such fundamental reforms are not supported by the member states, Norway will continue to back the candidacy of individual states to semi-permanent or new permanent places without the power of veto. Pending a major reform, Norway’s primary concerns are to ensure that the working methods of the Security Council are transparent and effective, and to strengthen the Council’s cooperation with other parts of the UN.
The demand for UN political activities and peacekeeping operations is greater than ever, especially in Africa. Norway will continue its efforts to strengthen the UN’s capacity for mediation and conflict prevention, for example in UN political operations such as those in Libya and Nepal. The mandates of peacekeeping operations are becoming increasingly complex and often involve laying a foundation for state-building and long-term peace. Such activities pose major political and operational challenges. The member states disagree on the framework conditions for operations and on how they should be financed. Discussions on how such operations should be equipped and staffed, including by military and police personnel, are difficult. The greater focus on supporting the justice and security sector has also increased the need for civilian experts. Norway will contribute its expertise in this sector and seek to improve the UN’s capacity to form partnerships. Norway considers it important to implement UN Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, and to enhance protection of civilians in connection with peacekeeping operations. The possibility of a joint military contribution to UN-led peace operations is being discussed with the other Nordic countries.
Norway considers that the UN plays a very important role in fragile states; it has the mandate, logistic capacity and experience necessary to operate in difficult situations of this kind. However, although the UN is in a position to lay a foundation for lasting peace and for the strengthening of states and societies, it is the countries themselves that must exercise leadership. A long-term perspective and coordination between international partners are crucial to success. It is also important that the UN strengthens its cooperation with the World Bank and improves its ability to draw on expertise outside the Organisation. Norway’s standby rosters NORCAP, NORDEM and the Crisis Response Pool can offer much useful experience.
The work on disarmament and non-proliferation in the UN has come to a halt. Norway will work for a comprehensive reform of the UN’s disarmament bodies, strengthen the legal obligations of member states and draw attention to the humanitarian and development consequences of the use of arms and the lack of progress on disarmament issues.
Two of the growing threats to global security are transnational organised crime and terrorism. No country remains unaffected, and Norway therefore believes that the UN should play a role in prevention efforts. We will support the implementation of the UN’s Counter-Terrorism Strategy, work for a global strategy for crime prevention, and seek to ensure that the work against illicit capital flows is given priority by the Organisation.
The international legal order, human rights and gender equality
The UN plays a key normative role in the international community. The current international legal order cannot be taken for granted – it needs to be continually upheld and further developed.
One of the most important international instruments is the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. It has played a fundamental role in securing and preserving Norwegian interests. Although it is the states themselves that are responsible for fulfilling their obligations under the Convention, the UN has a number of tools at its disposal. We will seek to strengthen the implementation of international law by various means, including monitoring, dispute settlement, capacity-building and, where appropriate, new agreements.
The UN is the most important platform for safeguarding and developing human rights. Although positive developments are taking place in areas where agreement seemed to be impossible, or that were previously taboo, in other areas a number of established rights are under pressure. This applies especially to women’s rights, the right to sexual and reproductive health, and the rights of gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people. Norway will work to uphold and defend established rights.
The UN also has an important responsibility for encouraging the authorities in individual member states to fulfil their obligations, and for assisting states to build their capability to meet their existing obligations. Norway will therefore continue to emphasise the fact that normative work and promotion of human rights in individual countries are important UN mandates. This is a priority for the Government.
Norway was a member of the UN Human Rights Council in the period 2009–2012. The establishment of the Council was an important reform that has appreciably strengthened the work of the UN, especially the Universal Periodic Review system, under which all member states in rotation must submit reports on their human rights practices to the Council. Civil society plays an important role at the sessions of the Council and in reporting human rights violations. During our membership we were able to make our influence felt in a number of important areas.
The UN has also played a major role in the efforts to promote gender equality and women’s rights, which have high priority in our overall UN policy. Many member states are interested in hearing about our experience of gender equality. Norway will continue its efforts to ensure that the gender perspective is mainstreamed in UN activities and to follow up a number of important areas such as the Security Council resolutions on women, peace and security and combating sexual violence in armed conflict. Given the growing pressure on sexual and reproductive health and rights, to which the Government attaches great importance, Norway will also give priority to strengthening the newly established entity UN Women.
UN efforts in the environmental field and in social, economic and humanitarian affairs
Norway considers that the UN plays a key role in the social and economic fields, both as a political arena for adopting common development goals and as an actor in development efforts and humanitarian crises. The UN is also a key partner in Norwegian priority areas such as health, the Government’s Climate and Forest Initiative, and clean energy. The specialised agencies are important for our policy in many areas, and cooperate closely with the various ministries.
Norway gives priority to the work in the UN for sustainable development – a field with economic, social development and environmental dimensions. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio in June 2012 confirmed the necessity of strengthening UN activities in this area. Norway will work for the adoption of specific, global targets for sustainable development and for a strengthening of the institutional framework. These efforts could include for example strengthening the UN Environmental Programme and ensuring that the new forum on sustainable development will be effective.
The time limit for the current Millennium Development Goals is 2015, and discussions on new, post-2015 goals are already under way. Norway believes that the new goals should be as specific and straightforward as the current goals. However, they should also focus more closely on the structural causes of poverty.
Today there are more poor people in middle-income countries than in the very poorest countries. Norway therefore believes that the topic of equitable distribution should be high on the UN agenda. However, we also believe that the states themselves must also take responsibility for poverty reduction through their own redistribution policies and measures.
Issues related to funding, redistribution of responsibilities and burdens, and deciding who is to benefit from UN activities are a source of considerable tension between the member states. The framework conditions for global development cooperation are changing. Aid is becoming less and less significant for financing development, and new actors are playing a more prominent role. As both an actor and a political arena, the UN has a key role in the new development architecture. A focus should be aimed at equitable distribution and increasing the proportion of state revenues generated in the developing country itself, and the UN should further develop models for cooperation with new actors and middle-income countries. Norway considers participation by civil society, especially children and young people, to be important in this regard.
In the work at country level, the UN is one of many actors. However, Norway believes that the Organisation’s role is crucial because of the normative mandate of UN organisations and their obligation to set and promote standards, for example by providing independent expert advice to local authorities. The UN’s rights-based approach is particularly important in the efforts to reach vulnerable and marginalised groups. Norway considers that the UN should concentrate more strongly on its strengths, such as provision of expert advice and capacity- and institution-building, rather than on service delivery and small projects. Although the UN’s development efforts are fragmented, the reform process “Delivering av One” has strengthened national ownership, strategic planning and cooperation. Norway believes that the UN’s main approach in each country should be based on the idea of “One UN”, and that the Organisation itself should address the remaining issues in the areas of leadership, administrative procedures and incentives for cooperation.
In the humanitarian field, threats to the personnel of aid agencies are growing. Norway considers it important to ensure greater mainstreaming of humanitarian principles and to strengthen respect for international humanitarian law by expanding the community of humanitarian donors and intensifying the dialogue with countries in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. The large number of new donors and partners make it essential to ensure inclusive cooperation and strengthen partnerships, for example with NGOs and standby rosters such as NORCAP, which is under the auspices of the Norwegian Refugee Council. Now that so many actors are involved, Norway considers that the main responsibility for coordinating humanitarian aid should lie with the UN. The UN cluster system must be strengthened. The humanitarian multi-donor trust fund system has been found to be an effective tool in improving coordination. Norway will continue its work to strengthen humanitarian funding mechanisms and seek to ensure that they are used to a greater extent for financing transition situations.
Results, influence and control
The UN is an important partner in Norwegian development cooperation, not only because UN organisations work in areas to which Norway gives priority, but also because our membership status and participation in governing bodies enables us to influence, control and set priorities for all the activities of the organisation in question. We have devoted considerable resources to professionalising our work on the boards of UN funds and programmes, and together with other donors are continually engaged in improving the organisations and the way they are managed.
The way we fund the UN organisations’ activities directly influences the way they function. Earmarking funds makes it more difficult for the organisation to plan strategically and implement the board’s priorities. Core contributions are essential and have a number of advantages. On the other hand, earmarking highlights, and makes it easier to decide on, priorities. Norway intends to maintain a high level of core contributions to UN organisations that deliver good results. We will also mobilise other member states to finance the UN. Norway believes that the Organisation should play a role in all interested countries, but that middle-income countries should finance UN presence themselves.
The Government has drawn up criteria for evaluating the various UN organisations, and the results of these evaluations will to a growing extent have budgetary consequences for Norway’s voluntary contributions. Norway will seek to strengthen the organisations in order to improve the results they achieve, both individually and collectively.
A coherent and predictable UN policy
The UN and the international legal order administered by the UN system are of vital importance in addressing global issues such as war and conflict, population growth, climate change, food security, natural disasters and global health. Unexpected events and crises will always arise. It is therefore important for Norway to position itself so as to have access to arenas where such challenges can be addressed. In this time of upheaval, organisations that can promote stability and cooperation are more important than ever. We need predictability and we need meeting places.
To maintain its influence, Norway needs to project a coherent and predictable voice across all relevant forums, a voice that continues to stress our image as a critical friend of the UN and that focuses on improving results at country level. We will advocate reforms in the areas of partnership, leadership and funding that will enable the various UN organisations to function as they should, while at the same time focusing on improving the entities we consider most important for achieving our priorities.
We will continue to take a long-term approach and give financial support to our priority goals. We are in a position to encourage joint solutions, and will work for the continuation of the UN as a strong, relevant and inclusive organisation.