{"id":197,"date":"2022-01-27T12:47:28","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T17:47:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/decolonizingengineering\/?post_type=chapter&p=197"},"modified":"2022-07-25T01:48:47","modified_gmt":"2022-07-25T05:48:47","slug":"special-topic-the-un-and-undrip","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/decolonizingengineering\/chapter\/special-topic-the-un-and-undrip\/","title":{"raw":"Special Topic - The UN and UNDRIP","rendered":"Special Topic – The UN and UNDRIP"},"content":{"raw":"The [pb_glossary id=\"546\"]United Nations[\/pb_glossary] is an international organization composed of 193 countries, which attempts to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights, deliver humanitarian aid, promote international development, and uphold international law. They have offices all over the world, including the North American headquarters in New York City. Some of the more recognizable initiatives and documents they have put forth include [pb_glossary id=\"547\"]UNDRIP[\/pb_glossary], the Sustainable Development Goals, and the Paris and Kyoto agreements. Canada is a founding nation of the United Nations, and is involved in various UN missions.\r\n\r\nHowever, what true power does the UN have over the Canadian government? Basically, nations have to follow International Law, but they are not required to follow resolutions. Resolutions and declarations are not something that\u00a0require\u00a0<\/i>action. However, it looks bad for one or two nations if the rest of the world is abiding by a declaration. In that sense, is the UN a neocolonial body?\r\n\r\nThe term\u00a0[pb_glossary id=\"551\"]neocolonial[\/pb_glossary]<\/i> refers to \u201crelating to or characterized by the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries\u201d (Oxford English Dictionary, 2022)\r\n\r\nSo in a way, yes. The UN can both assert direct and peer pressure on a country to follow international law or a declaration.\r\n\r\nExamples of UN declarations include:\r\n