Improving the EU's Status in the UN and the UN System: An Objective without a Strategy?
The Lisbon Treaty emphasizes the EU’s commitment to multilateralism, stating that it ‘shall seek to develop relations and build partnerships with [...] international, regional or global organisations’ and to ‘promote multilateral solutions to common problems, in particular in the framework of the United Nations’ (Article 21(1), second para., TEU). One of its key goals in external relations is ‘to support and work for effective multilateralism, with the United Nations at its core’. However these global ambitions are often not matched by the level of participation and representation that the EU enjoys in the UN and the UN system. This contribution examines some of the legal and political issues that are at play as the EU attempts to enhance its cooperation with and representation in the UN and the UN system. It examines these issues with regard to UN bodies that have been identified as targets for closer co-operation and others where the EU could potentially pursue upgraded status. It analyses both the EU’s participation in the respective fora and the legal and political potential for improving the Union’s status. The EU not only remains faced with a series of internal and external obstacles as a participant within the UN and the UN system, barring it from taking up its leading role at the global level – it currently also lacks a convincing strategy to overcome them.
The United Nations and the European Union : an ever stronger partnership
EU Status And Coordination at The Principal UN Bodies.- The Status of The European Union at The United Nations: Institutional Ambiguities and Political Realities.- EU Coordination at The UN General Assembly and ECOSOC: A View from Brussels, A View from New York.- EU Coordination on UN Security Council Matters.- UN-EU Cooperation In Certain UN Specialized Agencies.- FAO-EU Cooperation: An Ever Stronger Partnership.- ILO-EU Cooperation on Employment and Social Affairs.- UN-EU Cooperation on Financial Issues: The Role of The European Union at The International Monetary Fund and The World Bank.- The European Community at UNESCO: an Exceptionally Active Observer?.- UN-EU Cooperation On Public Health: The Evolving Participation of The European Community in The World Health Organization.- UN-EU Cooperation on Human Development Issues.- UNHCR, The EU and Refugees.- The EU'S Human Rights Policy in The UN: an Example of Effective Multilateralism?.- EU-UN Cooperation for Sustainable Development.- The EU: Greening The UN? Environmental Cooperation Between The EU and The UN.- UN-EU Cooperation on Security Issues.- UN-EU Cooperation in Crisis Management.- EU-UN Cooperation on Crisis Management - Putting Effective Multilateralism into Practice.- The European Security Strategy: Confirming The Choice for Collective and Comprehensive Security.- UN-EU Cooperation on Security: in Search of 'Effective Multilateralism' and A Balanced Division of Tasks.- Cooperation Between The European Union and The United Nations in Counterterrorism.- The United Nations and The European Union in Kosovo - The Challenges of Joint Nation-Building.- Outlook.- Regional Groups Within The UN Post-EU Enlargement.- The European Union and The Reform of The United Nations.- The Future of The United Nations: A View From The European Parliament.- Epilogue: The UN and The EU - The Road to Partnership.
Cultural constraints on the delivery of HIV/AIDS prevention in Ireland.
HIV appeared in Ireland following an opiate epidemic in the early 1980s. Initially, however, the gay community mounted the only response to the spread of the virus while the implementation of early actions by the government was hampered by the constructions of the disease within Irish society. This paper considers the influence of the religious hierarchy in both the development of AIDS policy and in the shaping of public perceptions of the disease and those affected. A qualitative methodology is used to examine the role of such cultural constraints in an evaluation of the social context within which the prevention of HIV infection occurs. Three key issues pertinent to the policy context in Ireland are explored in depth. These are the role of the Catholic Church, the influences on health education programmes, particularly information giving, and the development of services and other interventions. These findings are discussed within the social and political contexts in which health policy is formulated.