The role of the United Nations in Space

Well, Sraj, heres the very bare bones of how the UN is funded: The Core Funding and Peacekeeping operations at the UN is financed from assessed contributions from member states. The General Assembly approves the regular budget and determines the assessment for each member. This is broadly based on the relative capacity of each country to pay, as measured by their gross national income (GNI), with adjustments for external debt and low per capita income. There is a ceiling to what any member can be asked to pay and a floor delineating the minimum that will be assessed.

Special UN programs not included in the regular budget (such as UNICEF, the WFP and UNDP) are financed by voluntary contributions from other member governments. Most of this is financial contributions, but some is in the form of agricultural commodities donated for afflicted populations. Since their funding is voluntary, many of these agencies suffer severe shortages during economic recessions. In July 2009, the World Food Program reported that it has been forced to cut services because of insufficient funding. It has received barely a quarter of the total it needed for the 09/10 financial year. (Thank you Wikipedia)

As you can see from the latter portion of the excerpt above, those programs considered to be elective and therefore funded on a voluntary basis by the member states, are very often UNDERFUNDED. Im thinking that it would take something like a WORLD REFERENDUM calling on the UN to assess the member nations as would be done for a peacekeeping mission in order to fund such a program as you call for.

As for existing programs at the UN that involve it in Space, several probably involve aspects of space: International Civil Aviation Organization ; International Telecommunication Union ; World Meteorological Organization ; and possibly United Nations Industrial Development Organization ; United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ; International Maritime Organization and International Atomic Energy Agency . Other than those aspects of the above programs involving current or future space investment, Ive been able to find nothing wherein the United Nations is directly involved with a space program.

Its a great idea to get the UN involved in leading the way in a push to settle space. I dont know how effective they would be unless, as I said, we could swing a worldwide referendum on the subject and present them with a clear mandate from the people of the world saying we want this and are willing and eager to have the UN levy funds and do whats necessary to accomplish the goal of settling a significant population in various habitats in space, with sufficient infrastructure and industrial capability erected in situ to support a space going civilization. Be a great exercise, though, to figure the necessary steps theyd need to take to accomplish it.

Victor

From: sraj
Sent: Monday, May 06, 2013 4:59 AM
To: spacesettlers@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [spacesettlers] : The role of the United Nations in Space

What precisely is the role of the United Nations in space activities? It
should be quite easy for them to collect say $ 10 billions/year from member
countries, to further space exploration, protect Earth from being zapped by
asteroids and even perhaps do something a little adventurous like leading
in establishing the first human settlement on the Moon.

Regards,
Selvaraj