The UN is now looking to incorporate blockchain in its humanitarian efforts that have always had a global impact in terms of upkeeping of world peace. United Nations, in particular, is seeking to implement the disruptive technology across a range of its peacekeeping works that comprise fighting climate change, distributing funds among Syrian refugees deploying blockchain-based iris scans, among many other similar deeds.
However, using blockchain technology for construction work is not a new idea, as the said technology has its feathers spread across industries and business verticals in the present times. The potential of blockchain is unlimited when it comes to charitable work.
The UN’s secretary-general in his statement has said that the intergovernmental body must promote the use of blockchain in its global operations.
The UN Realizing the Impact of Blockchain in the Digital
World
It is quite evident that we are sitting on the verge of an industrial revolution that can break at any time, given the disruptive technologies such as AI, IoT, and blockchain ruling the varied industries.
Guterres, secretary-general of the UN said in his statement to Forbes “ For the UN to perform better on its mandate in the modern online age, it will have to accept and implement technologies such as blockchain capable of accomplishing sustainable development objectives .
Sustainable Development Aspirations of the UN
In 2015, the UN first set its 17 SDGs (sustainable development goals) that included fighting poverty and producing goods in an environment-friendly manner. 2030 is the deadline for the mentioned two major UN goals.
UN’s Blockchain Projects
Blockchain engineers employed at the UN are working day and night to effectively execute five blockchain projects at the moment. These are being monitored under the UN Innovation Network. The aim is to develop and induce agency cooperation within the international body. For instance, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the UN International Telecom Union collaborated to keep a track of pig supply chains in New Guinea.
The UN Capital Development Fund is considering blockchain for transaction-processing in Nepal. Moreover, the UN Development Programme is applying blockchain technology at tracing the cocoa supply chain in Ecuador.
Blockchain for UNICEF (United Nations International
Children’s Emergency Fund)
UNICEF is currently seeking to leverage blockchain in its work with the use of cryptocurrencies. The UNICEF Crypto Fund is a working prototype that allows the international body to accept bitcoin donations and later invest them into blockchain-based start-ups. It got launched in October 2019, and by now, has collected a donation amounting to 1 Bitcoin and 10,000 Ether. The bitcoin donation was received from the cryptocurrency community and the Ether contributions were made by the Switzerland-headquartered Ethereum Foundation.
The investment in blockchain start-ups has not been a strategy carved out by the UNICEF to gain profits from the highly volatile Bitcoin Markets but to get in sync with the digital space.
Closing Thoughts
All the work done to date by the UN in the context of blockchain usage can still be considered experimental. However, there exists an unexplored potential, which, to be realized, will take time.
One application of the disruptive technology that did bring in results for the UN happened to be blockchain-verified iris scans deployed to verify the identity of Syrian refugees. At the moment, these refugees staying in the Jordan’s Azraq camps are accepting aid and paying for the food with a retina scan stamped and recorded on the blockchain.