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23/03/2005 | Deepest Reforms in United Nations' History Proposed by Secretary General

WMRC Staff

Normally the most strident calls for reform of the 60-year-old United Nations are heard from US politicians, but this week the organisation's own secretary general seized the initiative with a set of bold reform proposals.

 

Significance

The creation and continued survival of the UN represents a major global achievement, but the organisation struggles to live up to expectations. The core institutions and goals of the UN have not been substantially reformed in six decades and there are fears that without change its future could be in jeopardy.

Implications

The proposals made by Secretary General Kofi Annan are admirably bold, tackling vexed issues such as Security Council membership, the role of military force and the UN's anti-poverty goals. Amid ever louder calls from the US for fundamental reform, Annan has wisely sought to seize the initiative.

Outlook

The proposals will inevitably run into stiff resistance from many quarters, given the many diplomatic issues at stake. However, there does seem to be a wider acceptance than ever before of the need for bold reform, and this may lower once-insurmountable barriers.

Annan Seizes the Initiative

United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has released a provocative and long-awaited 63-page report that advocates an ambitious package of reforms to the UN's institutions and role. These will be debated at the General Assembly in September, when leaders of the organisation's 191 members gather in New York. In the report Annan has carefully combined elements that will appeal to most countries. He argues that the reforms would serve to restore international confidence in the organisation and better equip it to meet evolving global challenges. The image of the UN has been battered of late by the debacle preceding the war in Iraq, by the scandals surrounding the Iraq oil-for-food programme and by a constant trickle of tales of waste, corruption and incompetence. Moreover, there has been growing criticism of Annan himself. His son, Kojo, has been implicated in the oil-for-food scandals and an inquiry commission will report its findings on 29 March. Some argued yesterday that the timing of the report's release was suspicious.

Key Points

Expand Security Council Membership: The main complaint of many UN members has been the unchanged core membership of the UN Security Council. The five permanent members with vetoes have remained the US, France, the UK, Russia and China since the organisation was set up. Other UN members have had to put up with rotating membership, even if some would in theory qualify given their population size and international prominence. Annan argues that the 15-member Council should be expanded to 24 members. He would be happy with either of the two options presented by a high-level panel in December 2004. One is to add six new permanent members, while the other is to create a new tier of eight semi-permanent members. The latter would be drawn two each from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

Human Rights Commission Abolished: This body has come in for frequent criticism, to a large extent because of the regional rotation of its members. It is proposed that the institution would be replaced by a new Human Rights Council with members elected by the General Assembly. The body would be more powerful and the method of election would in theory keep out countries with poor human rights records. The goal of respect for human rights would, moreover, be given similar priority to security and development. This proposal won particularly warm backing from the US yesterday.

Use of Force: Annan argued that the Security Council should clarify when military intervention is necessary. A new resolution would outline conditions such as the severity of the threat, whether diplomacy could work instead, and whether military action had a chance of success. This was inevitably interpreted by the US as a swipe at it over the Iraq war. On the thorny issue of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, Annan argued that UN members had a collective 'responsibility to protect'. This is very controversial for states who argue that their 'internal affairs' should not be meddled with.

Peacebuilding: In a bid to prevent countries becoming trapped in a cycle of conflicts, Annan proposed a new Peacebuilding Commission and a Democracy Fund. These would provide greater support to countries emerging from conflicts. This proposal should seemingly appeal to the US given the difficulty it has had in finding international support for its efforts to build democracy in Iraq.

Terrorists or Freedom Fighters?: A perennial problem for the UN has been how to define terrorists as opposed to 'freedom fighters'. Annan has proposed that any resistance to occupation that involves deliberately killing or maiming civilians should not be tolerated, and called for the adoption of a convention by September 2006 that defines terrorism. This definition would include any act 'intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or noncombatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.'

Fostering Development: Annan wants a firm timetable set for rich countries to earmark 0.7% of GDP for development assistance by 2015. At present many of the richest countries are way off this target.

Internal Management: A key part of the reforms would be to get the UN's own house in order. Much greater transparency is promised, as is a stronger internal watchdog. The abuse of privileges by UN staff and questionable recruitment and promotion procedures have bred resentment inside and outside the organisation.

Gambling on International Reaction

The likely success of Annan's proposals could be gauged almost instantly yesterday. Had it run into implacable opposition from key members it would be dead in the water. Instead, most of the initial reactions were encouraging. Canada, the UK and France were full of praise, although some other governments were more cautious. The greatest concern was how the US would react. The administration did criticise elements of the plans, but President George W. Bush nonetheless pledged co-operation. The ruling Republicans have traditionally been the fiercest foes of the UN in the US, and the organisation badly needs to win wider endorsement from that camp. Annan seemingly chose a good moment to strike, as Bush seeks to rebuild a more multilateral image and court allies distanced by the Iraq war. US relations with the UN sunk to alarming lows around the start of the war, after US pressure failed to persuade the Security Council to come up with a clear resolution backing military action. Since that time, the administration has been somewhat more conciliatory, but this does not mean the pressure is off. Corruption surrounding the UN's oil-for-food programme has been loudly denounced, and some Republicans have called for Annan to step down. The recent decision to appoint renowned hawkish UN-sceptic John Bolton as US ambassador to the United Nations was also hardly promising. However, Bolton arrived with a mission to press for reform, and with proposals on the table his hostility could well soften.

Reaction outside Europe and North America will take longer to gauge. There are some proposals that will appeal to developing countries, notably greater development assistance, wider participation in the Security Council and tighter controls on the use of force. However, the thorny terrorism proposals will be opposed by some, while others will want the power of the richest nations within the organisation to be further diluted, and there will be concerns over a stronger right to intervene in internal conflicts. Some Arab governments have urged Annan to exempt 'national liberation movements' from the terrorism definition - notably Palestinian militants - and to allow the use of the term 'state terrorism' to describe Israel's policies.

Outlook and Implications

The release of the report has set the scene for intense discussions and horse-trading ahead of the September summit. Annan pointedly argued that he wants the package to be accepted as a whole, but in reality there will have to be concessions. All in all, the proposals are well crafted and there is something in there for most members. It was very important that the reforms do not appear skewed in favour of one particular group of countries. At the proposals' core is a bargain whereby rich countries are given greater scope to address their security concerns, in return for making greater commitment to alleviating global poverty. Crucially, all the proposals have a unifying principle of respect for human rights. This would give the UN an explicit and powerful rationale for coming decades.

WMRC (Reino Unido)

 


Otras Notas Relacionadas... ( Records 1 to 9 of 9 )
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