Reforming The United Nations Electronic Resource

Reforming the United Nations [electronic resource]

The United Nations is in need of reform. There has always been widespread agreement that this is the case - indeed throughout the 60-year history of the Organization. Differences over the best cure reflect the political confrontation between its 191 member states. The institution has been criticized to lack legitimacy, to need accountability and to be inefficient with a bloated bureaucracy. Recently, allegations of mismanagement and corruption in the Oil-for-Food Program have led to a crisis of confidence. The public debate followed reform initiatives for enlarging the Security Council, achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and establishing new collective mechanisms to protect human rights, counter terrorism and respond to crimes against humanity. Strengthening oversight, governance and management practices aimed at introducing fundamental institutional changes. The publication describes the reform process leading to the United Nations Summit in September 2005. The achievements remain disappointing with the failure to approve a grand bargain. A number of recommendations are put forward to facilitate the reform process in the United Nations, realising, however, that this will remain cumbersome and a lengthy step-by-step effort.

Reforming the United Nations

The UN celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2015. In the Volume Reforming the UN: A Chronology by Joachim Müller an exciting story is told describing the evolution of the UN through the main change initiatives applied by each Secretary-General, characterized by political confrontations, crises of confidence and organizational constraints. Initiatives included approving the Sustainable Development Goals, strengthening peacekeeping, enlarging the Security Council, establishing mechanisms to protect human rights, improving aid efficiency, and reforming management practices. This story is completed by a Chronology of Reform Events to enhance the transparency of parallel, multi-layer reform tracks. Lessons learned highlight the main drivers of changes, the interests and constraints, and the dynamics of the reform process: valuable insight for capitalizing on future change opportunities.

Renewing the United Nations System