United Nations Renewed

1

In 1997 Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General, made a far-reaching attempt to transform the UN into an institution that will be better prepared in the next century to effectively carry out (1) the mandates resulting from the Charter and from the legislative intergovernmental machinery. He submitted his report «Renewing the United Nations: a program for reform» to the General Assembly, the UN main deliberative and legislative body.

Wrong were the naysayers (2) who thought the Assembly's diversity to be a liability rather than the valuable asset that it is. In a democratic way the Assembly was able to reconcile individual concerns and interests in the name of the common goal. The Member States were united in their recognition that strategic changes were essential to ensure the relevance and vibrancy of the Organization in meeting current global challenges.

2

Since 1997 several successive sessions of the General Assembly have been a site of the reform work where headway has been made towards building a consensus. Here are some of the measures that have already been implemented: a ten percent cut in the staffing, a zero growth budget, a reduction of departments.

Special mention should be made of the Commission on Human Rights. That 53-member body was widely criticized for the high-profile positions it gave to those who abused human rights. For example, Libya chaired it in 2003, and a year later it extended membership to Sudan which was practising ethnical cleansing in Darfur at that time. Another charge against the Commission was its toothless policies, its slow and inadequate response to violations of human rights in various parts of the world. To address problems in this sensitive area, in 2006 the UN General Assembly dissolved the Commission and established the Human Rights Council.

Other reforms include the revamping of peace-keeping operations and setting out rules on when the Security Council can authorise military force. In 2005 the World Summit recognized an international "responsibility to protect" populations from genocide.

In addition, an overhaul of the processes for recruitment, promotion and training of staff were carried out in the Secretariat; the post of a Deputy Secretary-General was created to oversee the coordination of activities in the reform effort.

3

These efforts have met with a strong positive public response, among other things, in the form of private donations. For instance, Time-Warner co-chairman Ted Turner (3) made a $1bn contribution to the UN in 1997.

Efforts to reform the UN continue. UN Secretary-General has established a Change Management Team whose task is to devise a plan of new reforms and to guide their implementation.

Important institutional changes will include the expansion of the Security Council, reorganization of the Economic and Social Council, changes in the proportion of assessment of dues paid by Member States, as well as ways to improve the overall coordination of the UN activity and its family of specialized agencies. An important new priority is to strengthen outreach to civil society — trade unions, business groups and other non-state actors. Over 1,500 NGOs have gained consultative status with the ECOSOC and have been involved in the work of UN-sponsored world conferences.

The process of reforming a body composed of 191 countries and comprising a large number of separate entities is a complex one. Launched in 1997, it will extend over several years and is certain to put the UN at the center of international relations in the 21st century. But even today with all its imperfections, the UN is still the oldest and the most unique organization on the planet which presents a vision of human kind in its organic unity.

Notes

1. This is what is called a "split infinitive". The structure is used when there is a need to lay emphasis on the adverb. Examples:

to seriously reconsider the plan

to resolutely reform the system

to desperately fight for equal rights

to openly debate the issue of ethnic conflicts

2. The word order in the sentence is inverted for the sake of emphasis. Correspondingly, the Russian translation should be emphatic, too.

3. Robert Edward ("Ted") Turner is an American media baron and philanthropist, the founder of the cable news network CNN. In 1990 the American Humanist Association named Turner the Humanist of the Year. In 1991 the Time magazine named him the Man of the Year.

4. Time Warner (formerly AOL Time Warner) is one of the largest media companies in the world dealing with film and television production and publishing.