united nations advanced certificate faculty - Long Island University
united nations advanced certificate faculty - Long Island University united nations advanced certificate faculty - Long Island University
As a Commission Secretary of the Population Commission (1964-1974), what were your duties? Were you involved in the preparation of the Annual Commission and/or the Annual Report? Of course. I had to prepare the Draft Agenda from A to Z and follow up with the election of officers, i.e., a chairman, vice chairman and rapporteur. At that time, the GA was gradually showing an interest in population matters, particularly at its 21 st session. The UN had always been a bit reluctant to adopt population action programs, as these would imply advising governments on the implications of rapid population growth in the areas of economic and social development. And these programs frequently raised controversial and sensitive issues. Eventually, the GA recognized their importance, so the Population Commission was charged to formulate policy and design programs in the areas of fertility, mortality, migration, and population structure. All this led to the 1974 World Population Conference in Bucharest, the first UN intergovernmental population conference to adopt an action program. Have there been significant changes in the work of the Population Commission, either in procedural or substantive manners, from the years of your tenure until now? Yes. Around 1960, the growth rate of the world population peaked. In response, the UN worked to develop and implement impartial and scientifically correct population policies that would be suitable for member states. Also, member states sought advice from the UN on how to formulate population policies that would be suitable to their own countries, considering their particular social, economic and cultural realities. Therefore, the Population Commission was very much involved in preparing draft resolutions for ECOSOC and the GA on those issues. At the same time, there was a proposal by some member states (Denmark, the US, Japan) to create a fund for population programs, based on voluntary contributions, since the UN budget was already allocated to other areas. That’s how and why the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) was created. During your career at the UN, what were the most relevant issues on population and migration? Did you have to deal with any of them, and if so, in what way? At the beginning, the UN suffered a big handicap in forecasting world population projections owing to methodology limitations. We tended to underestimate future world population growth, but gradually we improved the techniques and methodologies of the projections, which become increasingly exact over time. In a sense, the demographic projections were far more accurate compared, let’s say, to economic forecasting, which was a reason for us to be proud. Sometimes we used what we called stable population models, because in some developing countries breakdowns of fertility and mortality rates were not available. Another important task was carried out in cooperation with the Statistical Office where we encouraged all member states to participate in a World Population Census. Starting in 1980, and in cooperation with the Statistical Office, we have managed to have almost global coverage of the population. That provided a basis for accurate demographic interpretations for use in economic and social development planning. UNFPA has successfully attracted considerable financial support for this very expensive enterprise. 7
What were the main functions of the Policy and Programme Development Unit of United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) while you were working as Special Assistant to its Deputy Executive Director (1974-1977)? Around that time, practically all member states had become quite aware of the importance of population issues. Therefore, once a country had decided on a population policy, sometimes in association with UNFPA, it wanted to know what kind of programs needed to be implemented in order to fulfill that policy. In this respect I was heavily involved with almost all member states of the developing world in policy formulation and the implementation of respective programs. As Director of the Europe Branch of UNFPA (1977-1986), what were your major achievements and challenges? I worked mostly in Eastern Europe, where there had been some reluctance to formulate population policies because of the current political situation. Gradually governments began to undertake scientific population studies for use in economic and social development and finally they came to understand the overall importance of population issues. Some governments, Hungary was an example, were experiencing a population decline; they wanted to know how to alleviate the situation. So the UN became involved in advising individual Eastern European member states on population issues. Since 1953 you have been linked to academia, as a senior lecturer of the Faculty of Medicine at Kyushu University in Japan (1953-1957), then as a professor of demography in Bombay, and lastly as Adjunct Professor at New York Medical College and Long Island University. Why are you teaching? I am very interested in being involved with the new generation and sharing my views and experience. Sometimes I am confronted with very pointed questions, which I find exciting and challenging. I always give my best to students, and the experience is mutually beneficial, as I get a lot from them. I really don’t like what we call “one-way traffic.” ❃ ❃ ❃ The UNDPI/NGO/LIU Connection Long Island University has been an NGO in association with the United Nations Department of Public Information since 2000. Association is based on the university’s demonstrated interest in United Nations issues and proven ability to reach large or specialized audiences. This is done through information dissemination about UN activities, viz. academic programs devoted to UN studies, newsletters, bulletins, and pamphlets, conferences and seminars. 8
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What were the main functions of the Policy and Programme Development Unit of United<br />
Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) while you were working as Special Assistant to its<br />
Deputy Executive Director (1974-1977)?<br />
Around that time, practically all member states had become quite aware of the importance of population<br />
issues. Therefore, once a country had decided on a population policy, sometimes in association<br />
with UNFPA, it wanted to know what kind of programs needed to be implemented in order<br />
to fulfill that policy. In this respect I was heavily involved with almost all member states of the<br />
developing world in policy formulation and the implementation of respective programs.<br />
As Director of the Europe Branch of UNFPA (1977-1986), what were your major achievements<br />
and challenges?<br />
I worked mostly in Eastern Europe, where there had been some reluctance to formulate population<br />
policies because of the current political situation. Gradually governments began to undertake<br />
scientific population studies for use in economic and social development and finally they came to<br />
understand the overall importance of population issues. Some governments, Hungary was an<br />
example, were experiencing a population decline; they wanted to know how to alleviate the situation.<br />
So the UN became involved in advising individual Eastern European member states on<br />
population issues.<br />
Since 1953 you have been linked to academia, as a senior lecturer of the Faculty of Medicine<br />
at Kyushu <strong>University</strong> in Japan (1953-1957), then as a professor of demography in Bombay,<br />
and lastly as Adjunct Professor at New York Medical College and <strong>Long</strong> <strong>Island</strong> <strong>University</strong>.<br />
Why are you teaching?<br />
I am very interested in being involved with the new generation and sharing my views and experience.<br />
Sometimes I am confronted with very pointed questions, which I find exciting and challenging.<br />
I always give my best to students, and the experience is mutually beneficial, as I get a lot from<br />
them. I really don’t like what we call “one-way traffic.”<br />
❃ ❃ ❃<br />
The UNDPI/NGO/LIU Connection<br />
<strong>Long</strong> <strong>Island</strong> <strong>University</strong> has been an NGO in association with the United Nations Department of<br />
Public Information since 2000. Association is based on the university’s demonstrated interest in<br />
United Nations issues and proven ability to reach large or specialized audiences. This is done<br />
through information dissemination about UN activities, viz. academic programs devoted to UN<br />
studies, newsletters, bulletins, and pamphlets, conferences and seminars.<br />
8
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