The Four Nations Initiative

The Four Nations Initiative (also known by the acronym 4NI) is a cooperation project started in 2005 as an initiative by Chile, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand. The initiative contributes to governance and management reforms of the UN Secretariat, departing from the perspective of the UN Member States.

The Four Nations Initiative consists of a Steering Committee with representatives from all four countries, and a Secretariat based in Stockholm, producing reports and background papers.

UN Secretariat reform is an important topic and was high on the agenda during the tenure of Secretary-General Kofi Annan. There have been many reform efforts, notably with the Secretary-General's reports Investing in the United Nations and Mandating and delivering, both from March 2006, and the Comprehensive review of governance and oversight in the UN, June 2006. In recent years, there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations. ...

The Four Nations Initiative differs from the above mentioned reforms initiatives by being driven by Member States themselves, and also by building on a consultations process trying to create as large as possible scope for consensus before actually submitting reform proposals. The Initiative plans to submit final proposals by September 2007 but a preliminary report is already available on the 4NI website (Towards a Compact - report of preliminary proposals by the Steering Committee of the Four Nations Initiative).

References

Brief Introduction to the Four Nations Initiative, 2006, Information paper by the 4NI Secretariat

Comprehensive review of governance and oversight in the UN, 2006, Report of the Steering Committee on governance and oversight, UN Document A/60/883 Add.1-6

Investing in the United Nations, 2006, Report of the Secretary-General, UN Document A/60/692

Mandating and delivering, 2006, Report of the Secretary-General, UN Document A/60/733

Towards a Compact, 2007, Report of preliminary proposals by the Steering Committee of the Four Nations Initiative

www.the4ni.org

External links

Website of the Four Nations Initiative

UN reform website