Merger of UN organizations

The plan wants the UN to play a larger role in world politics and for aid to be solidarity-based, while the counter-proposal requires mergers and that the UN's aid organization for Palestinian refugees is wound down. Closing down a UN body that provides protection for refugees goes against the commitment to strengthen the UN and defend refugees' rights. The plan does not take a position on the organizational structure as such, which is why the conclusion is derived.

• strengthened UNdecisive»Vi vill därför att Sverige verkar för att FN ska spela en större roll« (party programme ↗)“We therefore want Sweden to work for the UN to play a larger role”
• increased aid and stronger UN»Sverige ska öka biståndet, stärka FN och skriva under kärnvapenkonventionen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Sweden should increase aid, strengthen the UN and sign the nuclear weapons convention.”
• protection for people in flight»fristad undan krig och förtryck.« (party programme ↗)“sanctuary from war and oppression.”
• democratize rather than wind down»Vi vill se en demokratisering av FN:s strukturer« (party programme ↗)“We want to see a democratization of the UN's structures”

The election manifesto promises to continue to value the UN's role for international humanitarian law and international cooperation, and the party programme wants to reform the UN system in a democratic direction — not dismantle bodies. Shutting down the UN's aid organization for Palestinian refugees conflicts with the plan's commitment to a safe haven for people in flight and continued poverty alleviation. The plan therefore speaks against the counter-proposal's demands.

• value the UN's roledecisive»Vi kommer att fortsätta värna FN:s roll i arbetet för folkrätten och det internationella samarbetet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“We will continue to value the UN's role in work for international humanitarian law and international cooperation”
• democratic UN reform»Vi anser att hela FN-systemet bör reformeras« (party programme ↗)“We believe the entire UN system should be reformed”
• protection for refugees»Sverige ska erbjuda en trygg fristad åt människor som tvingas fly från förföljelse och våld« (party programme ↗)“Sweden shall offer a safe haven to people forced to flee persecution and violence”
• development aid against causes of flight»Svenskt bistånd ska tydligare bidra till att förhindra att människor tvingas på flykt« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish development aid shall more clearly help prevent people being forced into flight”

The party programme wants to see a strong UN as a central actor and that the dominance of rich countries in the UN system is broken, not that UN bodies are dismantled. The election manifesto calls it shameful to cut aid and requires that aid be guided by poverty reduction without domestic political conditions. To pursue mergers and dismantle the UN's aid organization for Palestinian refugees therefore goes against the plan.

• UN as central actordecisive»Miljöpartiet de gröna vill se ett starkt internationellt samarbete med FN som central aktör för fred« (party programme ↗)“The Green Party wants to see strong international cooperation with the UN as a central actor for peace”
• reform but not dismantling»De rika resursstarka ländernas dominans i FNsystemet måste brytas« (party programme ↗)“The dominance of rich, resource-rich countries in the UN system must be broken”
• valued aid»Det är skamligt att skära ned biståndet och istället använda det till statens kostnader för flyktingmottagande.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“It is shameful to cut aid and instead use it for the state's costs for refugee reception.”
• untied aid»att biståndet ska styras av principer om effektivitet och fattigdomsbekämpning och inte villkoras mot Sveriges inrikespolitiska intressen.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“aid should be guided by principles of effectiveness and poverty reduction and not be conditioned against Sweden's domestic political interests.”

The plan says that the UN must be developed and reformed to be able to bear its responsibility and that tax revenue shall be used sparingly and corruption combated. Driving consolidations of overlapping UN bodies while maintaining donor commitment is in line with that. However, the plan says nothing about individual bodies like UNRWA and simultaneously emphasizes shared responsibility for refugee protection, so the conclusion is uncertain.

• the UN must be reformeddecisive»reformeras för att fullt ut bli en organisation som kan bära detta ansvar.« (party programme ↗)“reformed to fully become an organization that can bear this responsibility.”
• use tax revenue responsibly»Politiken ska hushålla med skattebetalarnas pengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Policy shall use taxpayers' money responsibly.”
• against corruption»skärpa regler mot korruption« (2022 manifesto ↗)“tighten rules against corruption”
• shared refugee responsibility»Fler länder behöver vara med och ta ansvar för skyddet av flyktingar.« (party programme ↗)“More countries need to participate and take responsibility for the protection of refugees.”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan states that the UN's role is seriously hampered by lack of efficiency and that aid policy must be reformed with a focus on reduced corruption. Mergers that remove overlapping UN organs and high costs follow from that commitment. The plan also recognizes the UN's special position, which corresponds to the counter-proposal's continued donor commitment.

• UN's lack of efficiencydecisive»bristande effektivitet och motsättningar mellan demokratier och diktaturer.« (party programme ↗)“lack of efficiency and contradictions between democracies and dictatorships.”
• reforms against corruption in aid»Den svenska biståndspolitiken måste genomgå stora reformer med fokus på demokrati, jämställdhet och minskad korruption.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Swedish aid policy must undergo major reforms with a focus on democracy, equality and reduced corruption.”
• transparency in aid»Samtidigt finns i dag allvarliga problem med bristande öppenhet och korruption med svenska biståndspengar.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“At the same time there are today serious problems with lack of transparency and corruption with Swedish aid money.”
• UN's special position»Förenta nationerna (FN) har en särställning som den viktigaste globala aktören för fred och« (party programme ↗)“The United Nations (UN) has a special position as the most important global actor for peace and”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan requires clear instruments for governance, coordination and follow-up of aid and independent evaluations also of the multilateral organizations through which Swedish aid flows. It wants the UN to be effective and appropriate common institutions to exist to streamline international cooperation. Mergers that reduce overhead and duplication follow from this efficiency requirement.

• governance and follow-up of aiddecisive»Det måste finnas tydliga instrument för styrning,« (party programme ↗)“There must be clear instruments for governance,”
• independent evaluation of multilateral bodies»utvärderingar av biståndet ska ske. Detta gäller även« (party programme ↗)“evaluations of aid shall take place. This also applies to”
• suitable institutions»i dessa frågor bör lämpliga gemensamma institutioner finnas.« (party programme ↗)“in these matters appropriate common institutions should exist.”
• effective UN»FN bör vara effektivt« (party programme ↗)“The UN should be effective”

The plan takes no explicit position on what the committee actually decided — often because the committee's reason was procedural. The stance is derived and fully cited, but it does not show the party broke a commitment.

The plan explicitly commits to working for a reformed United Nations and opposes tax revenues being uncritically channelled through unreformed UN bodies that lack transparency and follow-up. The counter-proposal's requirement for mergers of overlapping UN bodies, with reference to overhead costs and corruption indicators, is precisely that reform direction. The plan also wants to concentrate aid to the organizations where it does the most good.

• reformed United Nationsdecisive»Verka för ett reformerat FN« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Work for a reformed United Nations”
• demands for transparency in UN bodies»Dina skattepengar ska inte försvinna i korruption eller hamna i fickorna på odemokratiska ledare, och inte heller okritiskt kanaliseras i ökande volymer genom oreformerade FN-organ som brister i transparens och uppföljning.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Your tax money should not disappear in corruption or end up in the pockets of undemocratic leaders, nor be uncritically channelled in increasing volumes through unreformed UN bodies that lack transparency and follow-up.”
• concentrated aid»Fokusera det svenska biståndet till de länder, organisationer och tematiska områden där det gör störst nytta« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Focus Swedish aid on the countries, organizations and thematic areas where it does the most good”
• control over recipients»Stoppa utbetalningar av skattemedel till extremister« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop disbursement of tax revenues to extremists”

The stance rests on the quoted commitment in the party's own documents; the actual vote deviated. Click the quote to verify it in the document.

The plan requires that aid is made more efficient and evaluated and that all aid to Islamist organisations or regimes is stopped, with reference to the fact that aid funds have contributed to corruption and financing of Islamism. Merging overlapping UN bodies and winding down UNRWA in favour of UNHCR is in line with this, as is the plan pointing to UNHCR as the channel for resettlement.

• no aid to Islamistsdecisive»Stoppa allt bistånd till islamistiska organisationer eller regimer« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Stop all aid to Islamist organisations or regimes”
• aid must not foster corruption»exemplen är många på hur svenska biståndspengar bidragit till korruption och mutor och bidragit till att finansiera antidemokratiska rörelser och islamism« (2022 manifesto ↗)“there are many examples of how Swedish aid money has contributed to corruption and bribes and helped finance anti-democratic movements and Islamism”
• more efficient aid»Effektivisera och utvärdera det svenska biståndet« (2022 manifesto ↗)“Make Swedish aid more efficient and evaluate it”
• UNHCR as the channel»Behövs ytterligare vidarebosättning ska det ske frivilligt genom UNHCR:s vidarebosättning utifrån mottagarländernas egna kapacitet att ta emot.« (2022 manifesto ↗)“If further resettlement is needed it should happen voluntarily through UNHCR's resettlement based on receiving countries' own capacity to receive.”