History of the Edinburgh Branch of the United Nations Association

Throughout the 70 years of its existence the Branch has worked persistently with Scottish and Edinburgh society to generate a better and more peaceful world. In recent years our achievements have included:

Millennium Development Goals
Edinburgh UNA was a founder member of the Network of International development Organisations of Scotland, NIDOS, THE network that, soon after its formation encouraged the Scottish Government to provide an annual budget - now running at £4.5 million – for International Development.
Just before the last elections for the European Parliament the branch played a leading role in the NIDOS Lobby of Scottish MEPs in Brussels to persuade the European Political groups to place International Aid high on their election manifestoes. Subsequently, working through our MEPs the branch ensured the transparency of the European Water facility Programme for countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP countries). All Offices of the European Commission in ACP countries now provide information (courses) on the priorities of the Water Facility and on how to complete the (rather formidable) application forms for European Aid. At the joint EU-ACP Parliamentary Meeting in Edinburgh the Branch distributed leaflets to half of the ACP delegates pointing out that it was official EU policy that it was NOT necessary for ACP countries to privatise their water distribution to qualify for international aid for projects leading to increased access to clean water.
The Branch provided 20 pages of written evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology when it considered the Role of Science in International Development. As a result of the Committee’s deliberations (and perhaps influenced by the branch’s evidence)
- the DfID appointed its first Chief scientific Advisor
- the Commons Select Committee for Science and Technology spent a short time in Malawi, the first developing country many of the Committee members had seen.
This year the Branch has Lobbied to ensure all of Edinburgh’d NHS hospitals provide ‘Fair Trade’ drinks.
All of Edinburgh’s 5 MPs do all they can to support the DfID’s work.

The Education of our Children:
This has always been a concern. The branch has presented 30 copies (one class-worth) of the monograph, “Going to Court not War”, describing International Law and the International Court of Justice to every secondary school in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Fife and Glasgow. The Branch now holds annual MUNGAs (Model United nations General Assemblies) in which Edinburgh schoolchildren role-play different countries and viewpoints and formulate unanimous resolutions on a world problem. Recently the MUNGAs have been hosted in the City Chambers by the Lord provost.

UNESCO: 
UNA-UK has always proclaimed the work of UNESCO even when ‘under Margaret Thatcher’ Britain ceased to be a member. During the past 18 months the Edinburgh Branch members have been prominent in setting up the Scottish National Committee for UNESCO.



Renewal of the United Nations:
This was the theme of a major Workshop the branch held with the FCO on behalf of UNA-UK in 2005 on the 60th anniversary of the UN Charter. Over 100 members of civil society came to the Scottish Parliament to discuss with the Foreign Office. Participants included UNA members from Bruxelles, Cambridge and London. We helped to formulate British Foreign Policy.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament: 
The UN Charter is a charter for safeguarding a peaceful world. Since its inception UNA-UK has striven for multilateral global disarmament. Lord Beveridge and Lord Noel Baker made personal visits to Russia and China to ensure those countries accepted ‘General, Controlled and Complete Disarmament as the aim of the UN’s Non-Proliferation Treaty. (Noel Baker was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize; he gave the money to UNA-UK). In trying to follow this tradition the Edinburgh Branch held a full day Workshop in the Scottish Parliament in January 2007. Four KeyNote Speakers (Professor Wynn Bowen, Dr Ali Ansari, Advocate John Mayer and Lord David Hannay) were followed by four round table discussions facilitated by four politicians from four different parties. The event was covered by the BBC’s Newsnight Scotland on which it was announced that 95% of the Workshop participants opposed the updating of Trident. A Report of the Workshop was sent to each of Scotland’s MPs and to all the MPs in the Commons’ All Party UN Group. A robust (and continuing) correspondence has ensued with the Ministry of defence and this has been copied to the MPs. Questions have nbeen tabled at Westminster. Some 30 MPs have written to us and Gordon Brown and all the Scottish Ministers have acknowledged our arguments. We have been written that it is the policy of HMG to work for a safer world in which there is no place for nuclear weapons. We are seeking a government programme to achieve this.

DARFUR:
Currently the Branch Committee has set up 6 Working Groups
- Membership (witness this web-site); MUNGAs; nuclear non-proliferation; peace in
the Middle East (started late in 2007) and DARFUR.
The Edinburgh Branch has attempted to make a constructive contribution to the resolution of the Darfur tragedy by supporting the attendance of one of its members, Dr Abdel Adam, to the UN Conferences on Darfur in Africa. Dr Adam holds the view that a sustainable, just peace in Darfur necessitates that the impoverished region shares in the development of the Sudan. The Branch has facilitated the creation of a separate organisation, the Darfur Training Committee, the DTC, now seeking charitable status and also recognition as an NGO in the Sudan. The DTC helps empower Darfur women in developing their villages when it becomes safe for for them to do so.

Compiled by Dr Alec Gaines