Why the UN Needs Reforming

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The event will start on: Wednesday, 27 October 2010 5:30 PM

And will end on: Wednesday, 27 October 2010 7:00 PM

At Dyason House

124 Jolimont Road East , Melbourne Victoria

03 9654 7271     events.vic@aiia.asn.au

Posted by: vic   

'The Age' recently described Kevin Rudd's statement to the Millennium Development Goals Summit in New York as "unexpectedly blunt".  He was said to have "savaged the United Nations for repeatedly failing to do what it promised or, worse, pretending that it had".  "(The UN) would collapse," he said, "if it kept failing to meet its promises."  But is this a fair conclusion by the Foreign Minister or is it more accurate to say that the community of nations, including Australia, had failed the United Nations?

Self-interest, unmet promises and under-funding by member states are all realities the UN has had to deal with over decades.  Should it be up to those member states to develop the political will to make the world body work?  This is a deeply serious issue at the heart of any hope of achieving an improvement in global cooperation and progress.  To discuss these questions and the broader role the UN plays in tackling issues of development, Adjunct Professors John Langmore from the University of Melbourne and Ian Howie from RMIT will present their informed perspectives on the role the UN plays in contemporary global affairs, where the UN reform agenda is going, and how Australia could best enhance its engagement in the world body.

In John Langmore's time with the UN he was Director of the Division for Social Policy and Development in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs for five years and then Director of the ILO Office in New York for two years.  His major task was organising conferences including the Special Session of the General Assembly in 2000 which was the first global meeting to adopt the global target for poverty reduction which later became the first of the MDGs.

Ian Howie's career at the UN began in 1976 when he was posted to rural Bangladesh.  Assignments in Sri Lanka and Kenya followed before he joined the core staff of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in 1990 as its representative to Ghana.  Appointments as representative to Vietnam and China, where his responsibilities also extended to Mongolia and North Korea, were succeeded by seven years in New York as Director of Human Resources.  Ian addressed the Institute earlier this year after his return from Rwanda, where he spent three months directing UNFPA operations.  

Tickets payable at the door :

• Members                      $20
• Non-Members                $30
• Student Members            $10
• Student Non-Members    $15

Refreshments and snacks will be served.

Please advise us at least one day before the event.

 Event Flyer:  AIIAV-2010 Howie Ian Adj Prof Langmore John Adj Prof 27.10.10 (133.66 kB)