The UN at 63

The founding fathers of the United Nations, which turned 63 yesterday, would not have expected a world as turbulent as today's. The Nations of the World are now confronted with a multitude of problems.

The world financial crisis, terrorism and conflicts, climate change, the high prices of food, the volatile oil market, rampant poverty in the Southern hemisphere - these are among the many challenges that the UN and its Member States face.

In the words of UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, "we can see more clearly than ever that the threats on the 21st century spare no one. Climate change, the spread of disease and deadly weapons, and the scourge of terrorism all cross borders. If we want to advance the global common good, we must secure global public good".

The Global Public Good that he mentions alludes mainly to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of development objectives that world leaders have pledged to achieve or even surpass by 2015.

Thus 2008 is a crucial year in the life of the United Nations. We have just passed the midpoint in the struggle to reach the Millennium Development Goals - a common vision for building a better world in the 21st century.

The somewhat sad reality is that the world is not any closer to achieving these objectives. While gains have been made in some sectors, particularly battles against previously deadly diseases (the global malaria effort has brought the world within range of containing a disease that kills a child every 30 seconds) progress in some other sectors such as the eradication of poverty has been slow. There should be a renewed commitment by world leaders to meet these noble goals. Never had leadership and partnership been more important. In fact, more than US$ 16 billion were pledged towards the MDG cause at an UN event in September.

Such collective action is urgently needed on issues such as climate change and terrorism, for they are global issues that affect almost every country. But broader action against pressing issues may not be possible without first addressing another major concern - the need to reform the UN itself.

Many world leaders including President Mahinda Rajapaksa have stressed the need for reforming the United Nations. The need to overhaul the UN has become apparent due to what many analysts see as dilution of its powers in recent times. Indeed, UN sanction was not obtained for several crucial developments in world politics.

The UN must not be seen as a talk shop; it must become the final arbiter on decisions and events that could possibly shape the future of the world. It must become a body where all countries have an equal say.

What is needed is a re-alignment of the world body to give additional weight to key developments, security and human rights issues while setting out plans to make it more efficient, open and accountable.

One of the most frequently asked questions in this regard whether the composition and the rules of the UN Security Council should be changed to reflect present political and demographic trends in the world.

The Veto Power enjoyed by the five Permanent Members France, China, Russia, UK and USA has come in for criticism, as it hampers any concrete action on many issues affecting Member States. Should just five countries be allowed to do that at the expense of all other countries ?

On the other hand, there are those who advocate a change in the composition of the five Permanent Members, who are basically the victors of World War II. They point out that Germany, India, Brazil and Japan also have equal clout on the world stage. The latter in fact became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council recently along with Austria, Mexico, Uganda and Turkey.

These are indeed challenging times for the UN. Streamlining the UN system and bureaucracy may enable it to work more efficiently. It should also minimise the massive expenditure on seminars, paperwork and publications, salaries etc which are basically borne by the Member States, rich and poor. It must become a true people's organisation working for world harmony and development.