Austria is known for being a great place for nations to come together and discuss international problems. Austria is considered a neutral nation in regards to its international politics. Being a facilitator of discussion Austria and its capitol Vienna is home to a United Nations Headquarters.
The United Nations was founded in October 1945 right after World War II. Its goal is facilitate international peace, promote social progress and develop friendly relations between nations around the world. It is made up of six main departments; The General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social council, the Trusteeship Council, the Secretariat and the International Court of Justice. These groups facilitate in helping the World maintain and reach common goals.
The United Nations Headquarters in Vienna was the third headquarters established by the United Nations. It was built in 1980 and hosts many departments, some of which are the Office of Drug and Crime, the Office for Outer Space Affairs and International Atomic Energy Agency.
UN building:
Our trip to the United Nations was very exciting. In order to get into the place we had to show our passports and receive security cards. Our time at the United nations was spent between a general tour, two lectures and lunch. The tour of the United Nations was very interesting. The tour guide explained about the building and all the different offices in the United Nations. The Vienna United Nations building was built from the top down with the huge pillars on ether side of the building supporting the weight of the structure. It was designed so that all rooms would have sun light at one point of the day. He told us that the United Nations has 192 member countries which even includes the Vatican. As we walked inside my general impression of the building was that it could use some updating. It felt like the building was still stuck in the 80’s and needed some work. The tour was very educational and worth while.
Design:
General Tour:
After the general tour we had two lectures. One lecture was for the IAEA or the International Atomic Energy Agency. In this lecture we learned about nuclear proliferation and the role of the IAEA. The IAEA objectives include the safe use of nuclear technology and the ultimate disarmament of all nuclear weapons. Our lecturer explained how the IAEA tries and account for all nuclear material however it is often prevented from doing its job. He also stressed that the IAEA does not participate in disarmament it only accounts for the weapons/material already out there. I thought it was funny that he would only share the IAEA stance on their policy not his own personal opinions.
After lunch, which was delicious we had a great lecture from a lady who is part of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime or UNODC. She talked about how the UNODC was trying to provide drug education and prevention in developing countries. I found her presentation more interesting then the first. She was more passionate and knowledgeable about her work. With the IAEA it felt like its goals were unattainable and its methods unsuccessful. With the UNODC it felt like lives were being affected in positive ways and that it was a worthy cause.
My question for the United Nations:
1. How much legal power does the IAEA have in investigating for nuclear weapons?
- The IAEA has no legal power what so ever. It visits sites only when a nation allows it to and only to the sites the nation wants it to see.
2. How does the IAEA non-nuclear countries to continue no to develop nuclear weapons?
- The IAEA can provide money for the development of nuclear power facilities but it doesn’t provide sanctions to people who do develop nuclear weapons. The IAEA only reports this infraction.
3. How does the UN approach North Korea and how is this different from the past. Why would it work now?
- The IAEA only tries and reports North Korea’s progress on its nuclear technology. It is not engaged in disarmament.
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