BACKGROUND
To this day, the UN Security Council (UNSC) power structure reflects the political dynamics of 1945. The five principal nations that were victorious in World War II - the United States, the United Kingdom, China, Russia and France - remain the only 'permanent' members of the Security Council, and the only ones to have the power to 'veto' any Council decision.

Although member states agreed to increase the number of elected members in 1965 from six to ten, there is a growing clamour to further increase the number of seats in the Council. Countries, such as Japan (who is the second largest contributor to the UN budget), Germany (the third largest contributor) and India (the world's most populous democracy) have sought permanent seats on the council. However, although there is a general consensus on the need for additional Security Council members, there are deep divisions over how best to achieve this.

LATEST NEWS
On 6 July 2005, Brazil, Germany, India and Japan (nicknamed the 'G4') tabled a draft "framework" resolution calling for UNSC enlargement to 25 members by adding six permanent and four non-permanent members, apportioned as follows: permanent membership - 2 from Africa; 2 from Asia; 1 from Latin America and the Caribbean; 1 from western European
and other states; non-permanent membership: 1 from African States; 1
from Asia; 1 from Eastern Europe; 1 from Latin America and the
Caribbean.

On 10-11 November 2005, the GA debated reform of the UNSC. The
debate reconfirmed widespread agreement on the need to expand the
Council, but also that views remain divergent with regard to modalities for
enlargement, regarding the size of the Council and the categories of its
expanded membership.

RESOURCES:
Security Council Reform - the dual risks (pdf)
This is a paper on Security Council Reform by Sam Daws, Executive Director of UNA-UK, which was delivered at an International Conference on United Nations Reform in Tehran in July 2005.

BACKGROUND
UN management and Secretariat reform is often seen by member states as the crux of UN reform issues, not only because of the role it plays in administering the UN's financial resources, but also because without management and administrative reform, any other reforms in the UN-system would be undermined.

LATEST NEWS:
In March 2006 UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan launched his report "Investing in the United Nations: for a stronger organisation worldwide" in which he lays out the Secretariat's plans for UN management reform.

On Friday 28 April, the Group of 77 plus China, called for a vote on their draft resolution A/C.5/60/L.37/Rev.1 on Mr Annan's blueprint for UN management reform. The draft resolution, which rejects aspects of the report and will have the effect of delaying the reform process, was adopted by 108 votes in support, 50 against, with 3 abstentions in the UN General Assembly’s Fifth Committee, which is responsible for administrative and budgetary issues. Click here to read the G77 resolution.

The G77 gave a number of reasons for their action. Essentially they wanted to ‘send a message’ to the major powers that the UN should work on the basis of democratic principles, with decisions taken by majority rule and not by the 'power of the purse'. The 108 votes in support of the rejection represent about 12% of the UN Budget, while the 50 votes supporting the reform package account for about 86% of the UN Budget.

For more information about the 'power of the purse', see the section below on Financing the UN.

RESOURCES:
Governance and Oversight Review (pdf)
The Secretary-General has established a Steering Committee of eminent persons in order to conduct an independent evaluation of governance and oversight within the United Nations, Funds, Programmes and Specialised Agencies.

UN Ethics Office
UN News story about the start of operations by the new UN Ethics Office, which was formally established on 1 January as part of a set of new initiatives endorsed by national leaders attending the 2005 World Summit.

BACKGROUND
UN member states have long agreed that the General Assembly, often thought of as the UN's most democratic body, needs to streamline its procedures and structures so as to improve its deliberative processes and make it more effective. To date, however, only modest steps have been taken towards this 'revitalisation'.

Under the section on 'strengthening the UN' In his 2005 report In Larger Freedom, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called for the General Assembly to focus its agenda by concentrating on the major substantive issues of the day. He also called for greater civil society engagement, the strengthening of the role and authority of the GA President, and setting up a more efficient committee system.

The issue of reform of the system of General Assembly electoral groups has come to prominence in recent years as a key element in any expansion in the membership of the UN Security Council.

RESOURCES:
The Origins and Developments of UN Electoral Groups (pdf)
This article by UNA-UK Executive Director is contained in a collection on Equitable Geographic Distribution in the 21st Century, published by the UN University,Tokyo, in 1999.

GA President's speech to the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalisation of the General Assembly (pdf)
New York, March 2006.

Report of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalisation of the General Assembly (pdf)
June, 2006.

BACKGROUND
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the principal UN body coordinating the economic and social work of the organisation. The UN Charter places ECOSOC under the authority of the General Assembly. ECOSOC has the power to issue policy recommendations to the UN system and member states.

Some reform advocates argue that the 54 member council is too large for constructive negotiations, and should be replaced with a smaller more efficient “Social and Economic Security Council.” Other international financial institutions, such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Trade Organisation (WTO) have already assumed the lead in global economic issues.

RESOURCES:
ECOSOC reform at the UN (pdf)
This working paper by Frances Stewart and Sam Daws proposes an Economic and Social Security Council (ESSC) to replace ECOSOC, with a role in the economic, social and environmental spheres similar to that of the Security Council in security matters.

BACKGROUND
The UN Charter was signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945, and entered into force in October of the same year. Click here to read the text of the Charter. Although the Charter is now over six decades old, it continues to provide a solid foundation for all of the UN's work. The role of the UN has developed significantly over the period 1945-2005, and much of this has been achieved by changes in practice without the need for amendment of the Charter. Indeed, the Charter was only amended four times in this period - in relationg to the enlargement of the membership of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.

LATEST NEWS:
At the UN Summit in September 2005, World leaders, following Kofi Annan's recommendations in his report 'In Larger Freedom', agreed to a number of recommendations that could lead to future Charter amendment. The box below contains the relevant sections from the 2005 World Summit outcome document.

BACKGROUND
Broadly speaking, the UN system is funded through three principal 'pots' - the regular, Peacekeeping and Specialised Agencies budget.

The Regular budget funds UN core activities, including Secretariat staffing costs, in eight headquarter locations in the US, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. Among other things, the Regular Budget covers international conferences, public information work, human rights promotion and special UN political missions to conflict areas. The budget is financed through assessments to all UN member states. The regular budget is set for a biennium - a two year period.

Peacekeeping activities in 2005 alone cost $4.737 billion, with the costs for 2006 expected to rise to over $5 billion. Peacekeeping Budgets are set each year from July to June. However, the committee reviews and adjusts the budget throughout the year. Since peace missions vary in number and duration, contributions to the Peacekeeping Budget fluctuate widely from year to year. The budget is financed through assessments of all UN member states, based on a version of the scale of assessments for the Regular Budget. Permanent members of the UNSC pay an addition 25% towards UN Peacekeeping operations above their regular budget contribution.

Beyond the core UN, there are a number of related Specialised Agencies, Funds and Programmes. The UN Programmes and Funds, including UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR and the WFP are financed through voluntary contributions from member countries. The UN Specialized Agencies, including the FAO, the ILO, UNESCO, and the WHO are funded through a mixture of assessments and voluntary contributions. The exceptions are the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which are funded and governed outside of the main UN funding system.

LATEST NEWS:
In December 2005, UN member states adopted a budget for the 2006-2007 biennium but, under pressure from the US, limited spending authorisation to six months and $950 million, pending significant progress on UN management reforms.

After intensive negotiations, the General Assembly's budgetary committee decided on 28 June to lift the spending cap on the remainder of the United Nations' two-year fiscal period, authorising Secretary-General Kofi Annan to utilise the remaining funds in the budget for 2006-2007.