Introduction
The main aim of establishing the UN was to maintain world security, peace, and friendly relations among countries. However, rather than playing a significant role in the maintenance of global security, peace, and settling disputes between countries, the UN has been active in articulating less important issues. Though the issues expressed by the founding fathers of the organization are not the same as of the 21st world century, there is a need to reform the UN to have a realignment of its goals (Alli 50).
The UN agenda continually contains the debate about the changes required to the UN Chatter. This article argues that the UN Chatter reforms are necessary to enhance the credibility of the organization, improve its transparency, and strengthen the organization’s efficacy as a multilateral organization. This essay discusses the several UN bodies in need of reforms such as the Security Council, General Assembly, and UN finance.
UN Security Council Reforms
The central focus of the reforms is on the Security Council, considering that this is the most powerful UN body that has the potential of bringing change to other UN agencies. Advanced investigations of the existing problems affecting the decision-making of the Security Council, however, reveal the complexity of implementation of any reforms. A liberal optimist view wouldn’t be taken be serious, hence revealing the difficulties that are there for any implementation of reforms.
All the same, putting into consideration the fact that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are likely to slow down any reform that is against their interests, any reforms process to the Council and generally to the UN organization can only take place progressively. Despite the broadly supported Security Council reforms, this issue has brought differences among the members. The main apprehension is whether to raise the figures of permanent member states or limit the participation of non-permanent members to the affairs of the Security Council. The Security Council should be reformed to establish more effective Council working methods and geographical balance in the selection of permanent members.
Finance reforms
Superpowers such as the United States and Russia and dictators spend large percentages of their GDP on defense. Other countries such as Israel, Iran, and Syria have engaged in military conflicts and heightened military alert resulting in massive arms production. The United Nation should introduce taxation to all arms producers to increase its budget. However, the main issue with implementing such fundamental taxation would be finding approval.
Implementation of the Global Recourses Dividend by the UN would help tackle the influx of world poverty while at the same time reducing economic inequality. Member’s unwillingness to pay their contributions has rendered the UN to be in a financial crisis; therefore the UN should implement new rules to avoid such situations. There ought to be ‘reserve funds’ to keep the budget of the UN efficient at all times (Farazmand 70).
Secretariat reforms
Calls for reforming the UN Secretariat to an accountable, efficient, and transparent organization should be implemented. The Secretariat runs the bureaucracy of the UN and acts in response to the decisions of the General Assembly and the Security Council. The Inefficiency of the UN Secretariat is accredited to the disconnection of merit and reward. There should be implementations to reconnect the merits and make the UN administration more effective to overcome problems affecting the organization. The UN should make more use of the lesser developed countries that have highly skilled professionals rather than focusing on staff from specific regions of the world.
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Reforms
There have been proposals worldwide for the replacement of the (ECOSOC) with a more efficient and smaller organization. This body has not been active in implementing laws that prohibit the use of force in human rights, economic and international trade (Singh 145). A good example of this scenario was the forceful eviction of a legitimate government in Iraq with the help of the UN and its accomplices.
Peacekeeping reforms
Recent years have witnessed peacekeeping mission failures. As such, there is a need to have reforms to ensure that the body remains relevant. During the Rwanda genocide, the UN peacekeeping mission ultimately failed to thwart the rising insecurity in the area. The Department of Peacekeeping operations is supposed to compose of more personnel for complex tasks (Porter 233).
Conclusion
The various failures by the UN call for reforms to make the organization more efficient in its decision making. The veto powers by the Big Five have proved to be the main cause of the difficulties in the implementation of the Security Council reforms. Improving the transparency and openness of the UN Security Council, adopting new tactics, and restraining the veto power are the most important aspects of reforming the UN (Wuthnow 102). All in all, if the UN does not want to lose its mandate of maintaining world security, peace, and friendly relations among countries, it must accept to adopt reforms to its various bodies. Otherwise, if there are no immediate changes to the Security Council, the reform process will remain a slow process.
Works Cited
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Farazmand, Ali, and Jack Pinkowski. Handbook of Globalization, Governance, and Public Administration. Boca Raton, FL: CRC/Taylor & Francis, 2007. Print.
Porter, Doune, and Leslie Eliason. The United Nations: Rich Cultural Diversity or Cultural Mayhem?: A Cultural Analysis of the United Nations and a Comparative Study of Cultural Awareness in UN Peacekeeping Missions in East Timor and Afghanistan. Monterey, CA: Monterey Institute of International Studies, 2004. Print.
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