|
In recent years, there have been many calls for reform of the United Nations. However, there is little clarity or consensus about what reform might mean in practice. Both those who want the UN to play a greater role in world affairs and those who want its role confined to humanitarian work or otherwise reduced use the term "UN reform" to refer to their ideas. The range of opinion extends from as far as those who want to eliminate the UN entirely, or to those that want to make it into a full-fledged world government. Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ...
The foundation of the U.N. The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress and human rights issues. ...
An official reform program was initiated by United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan shortly after starting his first term January 1, 1997. On March 21, 2005, Annan presented a major report on UN reform, In Larger Freedom. [1] This article does not cite its references or sources. ...
Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1997 to January 1, 2007, serving two five-year terms. ...
January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ...
1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
March 21 is the 80th day of the year (81st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Security Council reform
-
A very frequently discussed change to the UN structure is to change the permanent membership of the UN Security Council, which reflects the power structure of the world as it was in 1945. There are several proposed plans, notably by the G4 nations, by the Uniting for Consensus group, and by former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Reform of the United Nations Security Council encompasses a variety of proposals, including procedural reforms, such as eliminating the veto held by the five permanent members, and expansion of the Council. ...
“UNSC†redirects here. ...
Year 1945and died 2007 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar). ...
G4 countries. ...
The Coffee Club is the nickname for a movement that developed in the 1990s in opposition to the expansion of the United Nations Security Council. ...
A number of international organizations and other bodies use the title secretary general or secretary-general for their chief administrative officer. ...
Kofi Atta Annan (born April 8, 1938) is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from January 1, 1997 to January 1, 2007, serving two five-year terms. ...
Bureaucracy At another level, calls for reforming the UN demand to make the UN administration (usually called the UN Secretariat or "the bureaucracy") more transparent, more accountable, and more efficient.
UN Secretariat/administration reforms seldom gets much attention in the media, though within the Organization they are seen as widely contentious issues. The UN Secretariat has about 30000 staff around the globe, of which 35% work at the headquarters in New York, Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi. They run the bureaucracy of the UN, responding to the decisions by the Member States in the Security Council and the General Assembly.
Among the notable efforts of Secretariat reform since 2005 is the Secretary-General's report Investing in the United Nations from March 2006 and the Comprehensive review of governance and oversight within the UN, June the same year. From the Member States side there is the Four Nations Initiative, a cooperation project by Chile, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand to promote governance and management reforms, aiming at increased accountability and transparency. 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. ...
During 2005 and 2006 there was little progress within the area of Secretariat reform, not least due to a wide confidence gap between groups of Member States as well as an enforced "spending cap" which soured relations between the North and the South. During late 2006 and 2007 the discussion atmosphere has greatly improved in the UN and successful resolutions have been taken such as resolution 61/261 on Administration of Justice and 61/244 on Human Resources Management.
Enhancing its democratic nature Another frequent demand is that the UN become "more democratic", and a key institution of a world democracy. This raises fundamental questions about the nature and role of the UN. The UN is not a world government, rather a forum for the world's sovereign states to debate issues and determine collective courses of action. A direct democracy would request the presidential election of the UN Secretary-General by direct vote of the citizens of the democratic countries (world presidentialism) as well as the General Assembly (just as cities, states and nations have their own representatives in many systems, who attend specifically to issues relevant to the given level of authority) and the International Court of Justice. Others have proposed a combination of direct and indirect democracy, whereby national governments might ratify the expressed will of the people for such important posts as an empowered World Court. Democratic globalization is a movement towards an institutional system that expands globalization by giving world citizens a say in world organizations. ...
It has been suggested that World Federation be merged into this article or section. ...
Direct democracy, classically termed pure democracy,[1] comprises a form of democracy and theory of civics wherein sovereignty is lodged in the assembly of all citizens who choose to participate. ...
This article is about the political process. ...
The United Nations Secretary-General is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal divisions of the United Nations. ...
A presidential system, or a congressional system, is a system of government of a republic where the executive branch is elected separately from the legislative. ...
The United Nations General Assembly (GA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations. ...
The International Court of Justice (known colloquially as the World Court or ICJ; French: ) is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. ...
For the UN to become more democratic in a direct sense, several issues would have to be addressed, including:
- Representation would need to be based more on population vote and UN democratic and free elections to the Secretary and Assembly, rather than the present strict one state, one vote principle. Another proposal is to establish a consultative United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) as an intermediary step towards a world parliament within the UN structure. An assembly where Liechtenstein has the same voting power as India is far from equally representational (generally considered a key aspect of democracy).
- The veto power of the Security Council would have to be removed. Again, this would remove a form of counter-representationalism, where the permanent Security Council members have their opinions weighted above others.
- The UN would have to be given some power of governance over its members, just as a national government has power of governance over its citizens. This would imply having the power to impose sanctions on members who would not follow the UN's determined courses of action and resolutions (including the human rights' resolutions).
- As implied in the previous item, the UN might also exclude from its membership those nations which it determined to be grossly violating the human rights of its people, including the right to periodic democratic, universal, secret-ballot elections (upheld in Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights).
It is likely that the small countries, which make up the majority of the current members of the General Assembly, would oppose the first of these changes (some of these might oppose the fourth), while the current permanent members of the Security Council would oppose the second, and probably the third as well. However, reformers have proposed that with incremental and simultaneous attention to these points, it is possible that the interests of the large and small nations might be reconciled through compromise in order to avert the anarchy and relative powerlessness of the present system which hamper the interests of both large and small nations. For example, if the veto power were progressively limited while also basing the weighting of the General Assembly more on population, large and small nations might be more trusting of the system to assign more supranational authority to the votes of the General Assembly and judgments of an empowered World Court. Election of Michal Korybut Wisniowiecki as king of Poland at Wola, outside Warsaw ( 1669). ...
One state, one vote is a system of representation in which each state in a federation has equal representation. ...
Diplomatic sanctions are actions taken by countries against others, either unilaterally or multilaterally, and are generally considered to be of two forms: Economic sanctions Military sanctions Economic sanctions can vary from imposing import duties on goods from, or blocking the export of on certain goods to, the target country, to...
Parties to the ICCPR: members in green, non-members in grey The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a United Nations treaty based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created in 1966 and entered into force on 23 March 1976. ...
Diversity and democracy Implementation of population-based UN voting also raises the problems of diversity of interests and governments of the various nations. The nations in the UN contain representative democracies as well as absolute dictatorships and many other types of government. Allowing large powers to vote their population's interests en bloc raises the question of whether they would really represent the interests and desires of their individual citizens and the world community. Anything like direct election would be impossible as well in the many nations where an accurate direct vote would be impossible or where the local government has power to influence the local voters as well as security of the ballot box. Giving the UN any kind of actual governance power raises the question of how these powers could be carried out. What would happen when a vote of the UN General Assembly demands changes in the borders or political status of a nation, or requires citizens in some nations to tax themselves in favour of other nations, or demands the arrest of the leader of a nation, and is met by refusal?
The subsidiarity principle resolves some of these issues. The term originates from social thought within the Roman Catholic church and states that no larger organ shall resolve an issue that can be resolved at a more local level. It can be compared to federalist principles where entities of the union retain some aspects of sovereignty. Only when two or more members of the federation are affected by any given act does the federal government have the authority to intervene. Giving a reformed UN more powers but enshrining the subsidiarity principle in its Charter would guarantee that the UN does not evolve into a world autocracy that can arbitrarily dictate policy. For example, the fate of Kashmir would have to be decided through a referendum held by the Kashmiris and not by a vote in the General Assembly. The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...
Kashmir (or Cashmere) may refer to: Kashmir region, the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent India, Kashmir conflict, the territorial dispute between India, Pakistan, and the China over the Kashmir region. ...
United Nations Parliamentary Assembly - Main article: United Nations Parliamentary Assembly
A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, or United Nations People's Assembly (UNPA), is a proposed addition to the United Nations System that eventually would allow for direct election of UN Parliament members by citizens of all over the world. A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly, or United Nations Peoples Assembly (UNPA), is a proposed addition to the United Nations System that eventually would allow for direct election of UN delegates by citizens of member states. ...
A parliamentary assembly is part of many international organizations. ...
While the United Nations is an international organization, the United Nations System is the whole network of international organizations, treaties and conventions that were created by the United Nations. ...
Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. ...
Proposals for a UNPA date back to the UN's formation in 1945, but largely stagnated until the 1990s. They have recently gained traction amidst increasing globalization, as national parliamentarians and citizens groups seek to counter the growing influence of unelected international bureaucracies. A KFC franchise in Kuwait. ...
Financing reform On the subject of financing, an interesting proposal has been made by Paul Hawken in his book, The Ecology of Commerce. Hawken's recommendation is to impose an international tariff on arms manufacturers worldwide. By his calculations, "a tax on missiles, planes, tanks, and guns would provide the UN with its entire budget, as well as pay for all peacekeeping efforts around the world, including the resettlement of refugees and reparations to the victims of war." Paul Hawken is an environmentalist, entrepreneur, journalist, and best-selling author. ...
The main problem with implementing such a radical tax would be finding acceptance. While most nations of the European Union and Japan would likely be willing to support such a tariff, it would be unpopular among many consumers of arms. Nations such as these range from the United States, which spends 4% of its GDP on defense, to dictatorships who depend on arms to keep themselves in power. Arms producers would also oppose it, because it would increase their costs and reduce their consumer base. Like any large corporation, arms manufacturers have a great deal of political clout in most countries.
Another problem with the United Nations is that finances are not controlled by the overwhelming monetary contributors. In theory, democratizing the budget by allowing all members to vote on it would be the ideal. However, as in voting matters concerning non-fiscal issues, blocs are formed that effectively quell reform. In general, First World nations (which tend to have strong democratic systems within their governments) contribute the vast majority of finances for the UN. However, Third World nations (which more often than other nations tend to have dictatorships for governments) have more control over where those funds go. This is due to the fact that the number of Third World nations is larger than the number of First World nations. For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...
Forms of government Part of the Politics series Politics Portal This box: A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by a dictator. ...
Human rights reform The United Nations Commission on Human Rights came under fire during its existence for the high-profile positions it gave to member states that did not guarantee the human rights of their own citizens. Several nations known to have been guilty of gross violations of human rights became members the organization, such as Libya, Cuba, Sudan, Algeria, and Vietnam. Meanwhile, the United States was also angry when it was ejected from the Commission in 2002. While it was re-elected, the election of human rights-abusing nations also caused frictions. It was partly because of these problems that Kofi Annan in the In Larger Freedom report suggested setting up a new Human Rights Council as a subsidiary UN body. United Nations Commission on Human Rights - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...
Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...
On Wednesday, 15 March 2006, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favour of establishing a new United Nations Human Rights Council, the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, with the resolution receiving approval from 170 members of the 191-nation Assembly. Only the United States, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and Israel voted against the Council's creation, claiming that it would have too little power and that there were insufficient safeguards to prevent human rights-abusing nations from taking control. March 15 is the 74th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (75th in leap years). ...
For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...
The United Nations Human Rights Council is an international body within the United Nations System. ...
Removal of spent provisions Several provisions of the United Nations Charter are no longer relevant. In Larger Freedom proposed the removal of these provisions: - Since there are no longer any trust territories, the Trusteeship Council no longer serves any purpose, and has not met since 1994. Thus, Chapter XIII of the Charter is no longer relevant, and can be deleted.
- Due to Cold War disagreements, the Military Staff Committee never succeeded in its intended purpose. Although it formally still meets fortnightly, it has been effectively inactive since 1948. Thus, article 47, and the references to it in articles 26, 45 and 46 can be deleted.
- The "enemy clauses" in articles 53 and 107 contain special provisions relating to the members of the Axis in World War II (Germany, Japan, etc.) These are no longer relevant; Japan in particular would like to see them removed.
There are also other provisions of the UN Charter which deal with transitional arrangements, and thus are now spent. For example, article 61(3) and article 109(3). However, In Larger Freedom does not contain any proposals with respect to these provisions. National motto: ? Official language English? Capital Saipan Area - Total - % water Ranked 78 (United States) 1,779 km² Negligible Population - Total - Density 132,929 (1980) N/A km² GDP - Total - GDP/head N/A Currency US Dollar Time zone UTC: ? Independence – TTPI Began – TTPI Ended (From the US administered UN trusteeship...
The United Nations Trusteeship Council, one of the principal organs of the United Nations, was established to help ensure that non-self-governing territories were administered in the best interests of the inhabitants and of international peace and security. ...
An effectively defunct United Nations body, the Military Staff Committee (MSC) has been described by British naval historian, Dr. Eric Grove, as “a sterile monument to the faded hopes of the founders of the UN.†Established by articles 26 and 45-47, the MSC is the only subsidiary body of...
Due to the difficulty in amending the Charter, it is unlikely that any of these spent provisions will be amended except as part of a package making substantive amendments, such as Security Council reform. Further, while In Larger Freedom proposes that certain provisions be removed there is not universal agreement. One school of thought in particular suggests that the MSC could be revitalized by member states finally meeting their Article 45 commitments which would provide a force able to perform peacemaking and peace enforcement under the legitimacy of the United Nations flag. Peacemaking is a form of conflict resolution which focuses on establishing equal power relationships that will be robust enough to forestall future conflict, and establishing some means of agreeing on ethical decisions within a community that has previously had conflict. ...
Peace enforcement is a practice of ensuring peace in an area or region. ...
See also Amendments to the United Nations Charter can be made by a procedure set out in Chapter XVIII of the UN Charter. ...
The Binding Triad is a proposal to amend the United Nations Charter to allow the United Nations General Assembly to pass binding resolutions with the approval of a supermajority of members. ...
References - Eliasson, Jan: The Progress of UN Reform Talk at the Carnegie Council, 2006.
- Tharoor, Shashi and Ruth Wedgwood: Debate-The UN Still Relevant After All These Years? Carnegie Council, 2006
- Annan, Kofi: In Larger Freedom, Mar. 21, 2005.
- Leopold, Evelyn: Annan wants swift decision on U.N. council reform, Reuters, Mar. 20, 2005.
- Shimbun, Asahi: Koizumi: No Shift in Article 9 for UN Security Council Bid, Global Policy Forum, Aug. 25, 2004.
- Hans Köchler, The United Nations Organization and Global Power Politics: The Antagonism between Power and Law and the Future of World Order, in: Chinese Journal of International Law, Vol. 5, No. 2 (2006), pp. 323-340. (Oxford Journals)
- CIA World Factbook: Ranked order of Military Expenditure as a percentage of GDP, 2006
Hans Köchler (born October 18, 1948 in Schwaz, Tyrol, in Austria) is Full Professor of Philosophy and Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. ...
External links |
Feeds |
Contact