Politology (Unit 4) - 'Nota' - английский для учителей и учеников

The United Nations is an organization of sovereign nations representing almost all of humanity. It has as its central goal the maintenance of international peace and security. Additionally, its purposes call for the development of friendly relations among nations based on equal rights and self-determination of peoples and, through international co-operation, the solution of problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian nature.

The United Nations is the meeting-place where representatives of all member states — great and small, rich and poor, with varying political views and social systems — have a voice and an equal vote in shaping a common course of action.

The United Nations has played, and continues to play, an active role in reducing tension in the world, preventing conflicts and putting an end to fighting already under way.

There are six main organs of the United Nations — the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the Secretariat and the International Court of Justice. The Court has its seat at the Hague, Netherlands. All other organs are based at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

Members of the General Assembly talk to each other in many languages, but officially there are only six — Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

The Secretariat services the other organs of the United Nations and administers the programmes and policies laid down by them. Over 20,000 men and women are employed by the United Nations with about one-third of them at the Head-quarters and the other two-thirds stationer; around the globe. Staff members are recruited primarily from member states and are drawn from more than 140 nations. As international civil servants, each takes an oath not to seek or receive instructions from any government or outside authority.

Working for the United Nations, mostly ''behind the scenes" at the Headquarters, are linguists, economists, editors, social scientists, legal experts, librarians, journalists, statisticians, broadcasters, personnel officers, administrators and experts in all the varied fields of activity covered by the United Nations. They prepare the reports and studies requested by various bodies of the United Nations; they issue press releases and produce publications, broadcasts and films giving information about the United Nations; and they perform the administrative duties needed to implement resolutions adopted by the various organs. In addition, there are stenographers, clerks, engineers and technicians, tour guides and also a body of security officers in blue-grey uniforms who are responsible for the security of the United Nations Headquarters. At the head of the Secretariat is the Secretary-General.

The main Headquarters of the United Nations are based in New York. The United Nations Organization Secretariat occupies the higher building. The General Assembly is held in the lower building.

Представлять, нация, человечество, поддержка, международное сотрудничество, решать проблемы, решение, штаб-квартира, генеральная ассамблея, официально, политика, издавать, служащие, размещаться, правительство.

sovereign	freedom or protection from danger
humanity	a group of people elected to do smth.
security	fully independent and with complete freedom
council	the human race

3. Do all the representatives have an equal vote and a voice in shaping a common course of action?

Ex. 2 Speak on stuff members working for the United Nations, if you can illustrate your report with examples.

b) how can you prove that the UN has become the most influential organization in the world

• How important do you think it is that we try to make the United Nations a success? Very important? Fairly important? Not very important?

• In general do you think the United Nations is doing a good job in trying to solve global problems?

The importance of international organizations for the development of modern society is hard to overestimate. It can be traced in many spheres of our life: politics, business, science, arts, sport, environment protection, social welfare, human rights, etc. The Russian Federation is a member of a number of international associations. Russian officials attend various meetings on the international level. Delegations headed by President Putin are participants of summits covered regularly by the media.

The United Nations (UN) is one of the most influential organizations. It was established in 1945 with the intention to preserve the wartime alliance of the USA, USSR, and Britain. A lot of countries joined the UN for international peace, security and cooperation. The headquarters of the UN are in New York City, the Secretary General of the UN is Kofi Annan. The UN General Assembly has one member from each member state who meet annually for a session. Decisions on many important issues are taken by voting. The UN Security Council is the most powerful body of the UN, because it can undertake investigations into international disputes. Member states contribute financially to the funds of the UN. These funds respectively finance the programs of assistance carried out by the UN intergovernmental agencies, for example the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

In the late 18th century, German philosopher Immanuel Kant proposed a federation or "league" of the world's nations. Kant believed that such a federation would allow countries to unite and punish any nation that committed an act of aggression. This type of union by nations to protect each other against an aggressor is sometimes referred to as collective security. Kant also felt that the federation would protect the rights of small nations that often become pawns in power struggles between larger countries.

The United Nations is the result of a long history of efforts to promote international cooperation. It was founded after World War II ended in 1945. Its mission is to maintain world peace, develop good relations between countries, promote cooperation in solving the world's problems, and encourage respect for human rights. The UN is an alliance of countries that agree to cooperate with one another. It brings together countries that are rich and poor, large and small, and have different social and political systems. Member nations pledge to settle their disputes peacefully, to refrain from using force or the threat of force against other countries, and to refuse help to any that opposes UN actions. As of 1997, the UN had 185 members, including nearly every country in the world. There are six main organs of the United Nations - the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Trusteeship Council, the Secretariat and the International Court of Justice.

Specialized agencies of the United Nations are UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) and UNICEF (the United Nations Children Fund).

The main objective of UNESCO is to contribute to peace and security in the world by promoting collaboration among nations through education, science, culture and communication in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are affirmed for the peoples of the world, without distinction of race, sex, language or religion, by the Charter of the United Nations.

Today UNICEF has five priorities, all of which focus on saving children's lives and improving their chances of becoming productive citizens. UNICEF priorities underpin the Millennium Development Goals and are central to the programme of action adopted by the nations of the world at the UN Special Session on Children 2002. UNICEF's first priority is early childhood care, the second is immunization, the third priority is education for all children, with a special emphasis on girls, the fourth is preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS among young people and the final priority is the protection children from exploitation, abuse and violence.

According to opinion polls, falling of the birth rates, threaten of the rapid growth of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, rising rates of substance abuse, the informal privatization of education and health services are main causes of the young people's desire to leave our country in case of opportunity to receive higher education or job abroad.

It goes without saying that children have always been the most unprotected part of our society and they need special rights and defense. The future of our planet depends on the future of children and the main task of our society is to make all possible to decrease rates of children mortality and criminality, to provide equal possibilities for all children in spheres of education and health care.

to commit an act of aggression, collective security, to promote international cooperation, human rights, an alliance, to contribute, collaboration, without distinction, priorities, a chance, to adopt by the nations, special emphasis on girls, exploitation, abuse, violence, opportunity, defense, to decrease rates, criminality, health care.

1. The United Nations is the result of a long history of efforts	an alliance
2. The UN is	priorities
3. The main objective of UNESCO is	adopted by the nations
4. Today UNISEF has five	of opportunity
5. The Programme of action	and defense
6. People’s desire to leave our country in case	children morality and criminality
7. They need special rights	to contribute to peace and security
8. To decrease rates of	to promote international cooperation

b) to vote for, to support, to back, to approve, to favour, to put forward, to sign

Ex. 5 Translate the following words or word combinations and use them in sentences of your own:

верить, союз, защищать, усилие, был организован, развивать хорошие отношения, разные социальные и политические системы, отказываться, Генеральная Ассамблея, справедливость, забота о детстве, главные причины, желание молодежи, главная задача общества, в сфере образования и здравоохранения.

Ex. 2 Describe specialized agencies of the United Nations, their distinctive features, ideas from the text.

1) Human rights protecting. What should modern society do to protect children from exploitation, abuse and violence

2) Equal possibilities for all children in spheres of education and health care. Are you for or against it?

Ex. 4 People set up different organizations for various purposes. What do you know about these organizations? Are you a member of any organization? Which organization would you join? Why?

When you join PLAN'S 'world family', you become a member of a worldwide community in the fullest sense. There are over 830,000 PLAN International sponsors around the world.

Together, they are making a real difference to the lives of children in poor communities. PLAN is currently helping more than 8 million people in over 30 countries to improve their own lives.

It's hard for us, living in a prosperous country, to imagine what it is like to grow up in Africa, Latin America or large parts of Asia.

In many developing countries millions of children die from malnutrition and disease before they even reach adulthood.

They live in the most basic kind of hut. Their water for drinking, washing and cooking comes from the local river or stream. They have to work from dawn till dusk, almost from the time they can walk. And for most of the year they go hungry. An average family income is £8 to £10 a month.

Worse still, they lack the opportunity to improve their lives, because there is no education or training in practical skills.

This is what we at PLAN International UK are working to change - and we need your help to succeed.

Already we are working in over 30 countries to help children in poor communities raise themselves out of poverty. We know we can change the world if we are prepared to do it one child at a time.

Today we are asking you to join our worldwide family and to hold out a helping hand to a child who urgently needs it.

It costs no more than £12 a month - 40p a day. To most people in this country, that's an affordable amount. But to a child and family in a poor village, it can be a dream come true.

Your sponsorship can give them some of the things that we take for granted in this country, such as an opportunity to go to school. It can give their families the chance to learn basic skills and health care. And it can start their communities on the long and gradual process of raising their living standards.

Because you are sponsoring one particular youngster, you'll have the joy of seeing the difference your help makes. You'll see your sponsored child growing up - learning, developing and gaining in strength and confidence over the years - through letters, photographs and regular progress reports.

Ex. 5 Make up a dialogue after reading this text. Develop the idea supporting the family and raising the living standards of the community as a whole.

PLAN International is a worldwide charity that has been working with children and their families in poor communities for the past 58 years.

In Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean we are giving poor people the chance to improve their own lives through small-scale development projects.

We are helping to build schools, dig wells, provide medicines and -most important of all - teach the skills which the people need.

To give just one example: in the Embu area of Kenya we are helping to equip and run a mobile clinic to improve child care; providing textbooks for the local school, helping to build tanks to conserve rainwater; and training local people in agricultural and income generating skills.

In all, we have over 6,000 locally recruited Field Staff working with families in poor communities.

We know that we cannot really help the world's poor by giving them handouts, or imposing preconceived Western 'solutions' on them. Our approach is to help people solve their problems in their own way.

Suhartono lives with his parents in a house made of bamboo with a mud floor. The house has no water supply or lavatory: the family, along with the rest of the community, use the nearby river.

The entire family possessions are 3 old wardrobes, 2 tables, 6 chairs, a divan bed, a radio and a bicycle.

Suhartono's father is a peasant farmer. The family's total income is only £8.26 a month.

The village where Diabe lives, like thousands in the Third World, lacks even the most basic health care. Neither Diabe nor her brother and two sisters can read or write.

The Cisse family live in a mud compound which they share with relatives. It consists of 20 huts, along with a cookhouse, granary and animal shed.

The Cisses have to rely entirely on their own resources. The soil is poor and, if the rains fail, the crops fail too.

Suresh's father is a labourer. His mother works at home. The family do not own any land and the family's total monthly income is about £13.

A simple woodfire on the floor is all they have for cooking. The house has no water supply or sanitation.

Santos lives with her family in a one room house made from clay bricks. It has a dirt floor, a single window, and a lavatory in the corner.

Their only source of water is a public well some distance from the house. Santos' father is a farmer who earns barely enough for their most basic needs.

d) Read the interview and write down an assay about the aims of this organization and the ways they are achieved. Your pros and cons.

A. Yes, as a sponsor myself I can assure you of that. The proof is in all the schools and clinics, the new supplies of fresh water, and the wells and bridges that PLAN has helped to provide. And the many income-generating projects they've helped families to start.

A. PLAN takes pride in the fact that on average throughout the world, approximately 80p of every £1 contributed goes straight towards development work, with the absolute minimum being spent on administration. Your help will go to the village or area where your child lives - and every year you will receive a report from our local Field Officer to tell you what it has helped to achieve.

A. When you apply to be a sponsor, you can choose whether you would like to sponsor a girl or a boy, and decide which area of the world you prefer. Your child will live in a village or community where PLAN International is already working and will be chosen by the family to represent them.

A. It depends. Some children love writing and send several letters a year, many with drawings of their homes and surroundings. Others are less communicative, and some (especially the younger children) may not be able to write. But PLAN'S Field worker will make sure you receive news of your child at least twice a year.

A. Children are normally sponsored until they reach the age of 18, or until they or their family no longer need our help. But becoming a sponsor does not commit you to any fixed period. You can withdraw at any time if your circumstances change.

In the sphere of finance, Russia cooperates with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, known as the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Russia also cooperates with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), especially in the programs of the World Heritage Fund which protect world heritage sites. This fund finances projects that help to restore and preserve man-made and natural sites in Russia.

A number of humanitarian organisations always help those in need. The representatives of Medicines Sans Frontier and the Red Cross can be found in Russia, as well as in any part of the world.

They assist people suffering from the horrors of war, floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and accidents.

The acronym, WWF and the black and white logo of a giant panda are well-known in our country. WWF stands for the World Wide Fund for Nature that was established in 1961 to raise funds for conservation of particular species, e.g. the tiger and the giant panda.

The Green Party which aims to "preserve the planet and its people" is very numerous and has a number of seats in the parliaments of many countries, including the European Parliament in Strasbourg. The British Green Party is known as the Ecology Party.

Greenpeace is an international pressure group founded in 1971, with the policy of non-violent direct actions backed by scientific research. Sometimes these actions are risk-taking: during a protest against French atmospheric nuclear testing in the South Pacific in 1985, the ship of Greenpeace was sunk by French intelligence agents (агентами спецслужб). Russian Greenpeace is affiliated with Greenpeace groups in other countries.

1) The International Criminal Police Organization helps the police of 14G nations to cooperate in catching criminals who cross borders to escape capture.

2) It aims at promoting world trade and supporting countries that are having financial problems. It was established in 1945.

3) It was founded in 1946. It promotes cooperation among its 158 members in education, science and culture. The USA, contributor of 25% of its budget, withdrew in 1984 on the grounds of its repoliticization and mismanagement. Britain followed in 1985.

4) It was established in 1945 as a successor to the League of Nations and has played an important role in many areas, such as refugee aid and resettlement, development assistance, disaster relief, and cultural cooperation. Members contribute financially according to the resources, an apportionment being made by the General Assembly, with the addition of voluntary contributions from some governments to the funds of the UN. These finance the programme of assistance carried out by the UN intergovernmental agencies, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN refugee organizations, and the United Nations Special Fund for Developing Countries. There are six official working languages: English, French, Russian, Spanish, Chinese, and Arabic.

5) It was established in 1949 in Strasbourg. Its aims are to secure "a greater measure of unity between the European countries". The widest association of European states, it has a Committee of foreign ministers, a Parliamentary Assembly (with members from national parliaments), and a European Commission investigating violations of human rights.

6) It is a new action programme to provide full equality for women. It aims at promoting full participation by women and re-evaluating their contribution to working life and society at large. It is known as "Europe — a trump card for women".

7) It was established in 1948 in Geneva. It is based on a multilateral treaty which lays down a common code of conduct in international trade, providing a forum for discussion of trade problems, with the object of reducing trade barriers.

Ex. 3 Here is the list of some UN specialized agencies. Try to guess what they mean:

1. Trade relations with the EC are prominent for the Russian Federation, aren’t they?

There is an organisation that plays an important part in the lives of all Europeans. It's the European Community (EC) or European Union (EU). The EC is a political and economical alliance. The aims of the EC include expansion of trade, free movement of capital and labour within the Community. It establishes a closer union among European nations, that's why the relations of Russia with the EC are so important.

Trade relations with the EC are prominent for the Russian Federation. Our country exports grain and imports meat. Russia's export of natural resources to different EC countries is increasing rapidly. It is regularly reported that more and more joint ventures (JVs) are being launched in Russia. President Vladimir Putin said he anticipated more joint projects in Europe similar to the Blue Stream pipeline project with Turkey. This 3 billion dollar venture was implemented by gas giant Gazprom and Italian energy company Eni. They are expected to deliver natural gas from Russia to Turkey via the Black Sea.

In order to develop economically, Russia has to join the World Trade Organisation and other political and trade alliances. This is the only way to abolish restrictive practices administered to our country and ensure low tariffs, loans, and export of our products.

5. The major function of the WHO is to establish measures for the control of epidemic diseases, isn’t it?

Ex. 7 Read and translate information about the Red Cross and discuss the pupils’ press releases about the Red Crescent. (See Additional Material)