Text-based Negotiations in Full Swing
22 June 2010
On June 16th the negotiations on Security Council reform proceeded with the third meeting of the fifth round. The meeting aimed at getting member states to discuss specific language on the fourth “key issue”. Many countries seemed to have misunderstood the intention of the Chair, however, and restated their positions rather than making suggestions for specific changes to the document at hand.

Potentially Historic Text on Security Council Reform
By Jakob Lund, 13 May 2010
On May 10th, Zahir Tanin, the Chair of the intergovernmental negotiations on the question of equitable representation and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council, sent out a long-awaited fax to all member states containing a “negotiation text”. The text and the annex can be accessed on the website of the PGA. The text includes the proposals sent by member states to Tanin's office since he opened the process of moving towards a text-based solution.

Open Debate on the Working Methods of the Security Council
By Jakob Silas Lund, 28 April 2010
On April 22nd, the Security Council’s Informal Working Group on Documentation and Other Procedural Issues held an open debate on the working methods of the Council. The debate raised some key questions that are relevant to the ongoing Security Council reform negotiations. Furthermore, to keep the issue of its working methods on the agenda of the Security Council is, in and of itself, an accomplishment.

A New Phase in Security Council Reform Has Started
10 February, 2010
On February 5th, the Chair of the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, Ambassador Tanin of Afghanistan, sent out a letter to all member states with an attachment of sixty pages. The document (available here and here) includes all “substantive input” submitted by Member States to the Chair thus far in the fourth round of negotiations. This marks the beginning of the fifth round, which, for the first time, will be text-based.

Moving Towards Text-Based Negotiations?
By Jakob Silas Lund, 21 January 2010
The previous month was an eventful one in terms of the Security Council reform process. On December 23rd, a group of countries sent a letter to the Chair of the intergovernmental negotiations, Ambassador Tanin of Afghanistan, urging him to present a composite paper. Following that, Tanin received a number of other letters concerning the process and on January 14th he replied with his own letter to all member states. This all culminated in the latest round of negotiations on January 19th and 20th in which the consequences of the letter exchanges were discussed.

Pros and Cons of Security Council reform
By Jakob Silas Lund, 19 January 2010
Through extensive interviews with experts as well as current and former Ambassadors and diplomats who have been close to the reform process, this article outlines and analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the components incorporated in the proposals currently on the table.

The Long and Winding Road
by Jakob Silas Lund, 11 December, 2009
On November 16th, the chair of the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, Ambassador Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan, sent a letter to all member states inviting them to the first meeting of the fourth round of negotiations. The negotiations ended up spanning over two days rather than the planned one-day session.

Reforming the Working Methods of the Security Council
by Jakob Silas Lund, 18 November, 2009
While the discussion on Security Council reform primarily focuses on expansion of its membership, some countries maintain that reforming the way the Council conducts its work is much more relevant and significant for most member states. This article, based on interviews with a number of key diplomats and experts, explores suggestions made towards such reform in the last decade and analyzes the likely road ahead.

Annual Report of the Security Council
by Jakob S. Lund, 17 November, 2009
On November 12th and 13th, the UN General Assembly (GA) met to discuss the annual report of the Security Council immediately followed by a plenary meeting on the questions of equitable representation in and increase in the membership of the Council.

Finding agreement on Member States’ assessments complicates budget approval
By Lydia Swart, 10 November 2009
Before the end of the year, the Fifth Committee is faced with making some major decisions. Approval of the 2010-2011 programme budget is expected to be an especially arduous task, unlikely to be resolved until the very end of the deliberations. Potentially complicating the budget negotiations further is the apparent difficulty in reaching agreement on the methodologies to be used to determine Member States' assessments - both for the regular budget and peacekeeping.

At the opening of the 64th General Assembly, Security Council reform is often mentioned, but mostly in familiar or vague terms.
by Jakob S. Lund, 30 September 2009
During the opening week of the 64th General Assembly, several of the world’s leaders raised the issue of Security Council reform but few said anything new. Seen through the most positive lens, the fact that so many countries spent some of their 15 allotted minutes to bring up SC reform could signify a readiness to tackle the issue over the coming year.

Third Round of Intergovernmental Negotiations on UN Security Council Reform Conclude
By Jakob S. Lund and Daniel Safran-Hon, 22 September, 2009
At the 63rd session, Member States started intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, chaired by Afghan Ambassador Zahir Tanin. The following summarizes three days of negotiations, which took place in early September. Immediately following the final round in this session, the General Assembly opted for the possibility of continued negotiations in the 64th session.

Chair of Informal General Assembly Consultations on Security Council Reform Describes Future Steps in Press Conference
22 July 2009
In a press conference given on Monday 20 July 2009, Ambassador Zahir Tanin, Permanent representative of Afghanistan to the UN and Chair of Intergovernmental Negotiations on Security Council reform described the next steps in the consultations on SC reform towards the end of the 63rd General Assembly. The Ambassador called for good use of the summer by Member States and concluded that "there is light at the end of the tunnel".

Second Round of Security Council Reform Talks Ends
29 June 2009
Member States met on 22 and 23 June 2009 to discuss the working methods of the Security Council in the last installment of the second round of intergovernmental negotiations on Council reform. The contents or dates of a third round have not yet been made public.

Second Round of Talks on Security Council Reform Begins
16 June 2009
Following the end of the first round of negotiations on Security Council reform, and the subsequent release of the Chairman's overview of these proceedings, Member States met on 22 and 26 May and on 11 and 12 June to further narrow down the reform options in a second round of negotiations.

Facilitator Releases Status Report on Security Council Reform Process: Maps Way Forward
20 May 2009
Ambassador Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan, Chairman of the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, released yesterday a paper summarizing the first round of negotiations as well as outlining the process during the coming second round. Member States will meet on Friday, 22 May 2009, to discuss the issue.

In Fifth Meeting on Security Council Reform, Countries Look at the Relationship Between the General Assembly and the Council
24 April 2009
Member States met on 20 April 2009 to discuss the relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council in the fifth and last meeting in a first round of negotiations on how to reform the Security Council.

GA President Disappointed with Attempt to Improve the General Assembly’s Role and Authority
by Lydia Swart, 5 March 2009
Upon taking office, the current President of the General Assembly, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, made GA revitalization and democratization of the United Nations top priorities of his presidency. His recent attempt, however, to make the Assembly more relevant by addressing the crisis in Gaza - in his own assessment - failed.

System-wide Coherence – the 62nd GA Session and the Road Ahead
by Jonas von Freiesleben, 16 December 2008
The following analysis provides an update to chapter 3 on System-wide Coherence in “Managing Change at the United Nations,” and covers events pertaining to this issue during the 62nd General Assembly session, as well as a look ahead at what might come.

Open-ended Working Group Meets to Discuss Framework for Upcoming Negotiations
8 December 2008
The Open-ended Working Group on Security Council reform met on Friday in the first of three scheduled meetings on the framework and modalities of the upcoming intergovernmental negotiations. Some 30 Member States spoke during the meeting, with a portion arguing that framework and modalities had to be agreed upon before embarking on further negotiations, while others claimed that the rules of procedure of the General Assembly would suffice as a general framework.

Security Council Reform - An Overview of Member States' Positions
by Emanuel Evans, 8 December 2008
Member States are in the process of discussing the framework and modalities of the upcoming intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council Reform. The Center has produced a chart in Excel and PDF format outlining known positions.

Report of the Fifth Committee – October & November 2008
by Emanuel Evans and Lydia Swart, 1 December 2008
The Fifth Committee is scheduled to meet from 3 October to 12 December 2008. Considering its heavy workload, the late issuance of certain documents, and the regretfully all too predictable disagreements among Member States, it is likely that the session will take longer than anticipated. The following provides an overview of a number of issues on the agenda and also attempts to summarize some of the proceedings so far, highlighting the dynamics among Member States as well as between Member States and the Secretariat.

Scale of Assessments – An Overview of Methodology Proposals by Member States
by Emanuel Evans, 18 November 2008
In the Fifth Committee, delegates are considering a draft resolution on the scale of assessments which contains a variety of proposals and models from Member States in regard to the methodology used to determine Member States’ dues for the period 2010-2012. The following provides an analysis as well as a chart comparing the various proposals as per draft resolution dated 10 November 2008, Rev. 3. A decision on which model to use would be made during the main session of the 64th General Assembly.

First Meeting in Open-ended Working Group on Security Council Reform
11 November 2008 (updated on 17 November 2008)
The Open-Ended Working Group on Security Council Reform (OEWG) met on 11 and 17 November 2008 for the first meeting of the 63rd GA session. The meeting had been widely anticipated by Member States - especially after September’s dramatic and confusing conclusion of OWEG - with many hoping that it would help shed light on the future process. Most comments centered on the role of the Working Group vis-à-vis the upcoming intergovernmental negotiations, the need for a framework agreement in the Working Group before moving to intergovernmental negotiations, and how and when such negotiations could be initiated.

Security Council Reform – the 62nd GA Session and the Road Ahead
by Jonas von Freiesleben, 11 November 2008
The following analysis provides an update to chapter 1 on Security Council reform in the Center's publication “Managing Change at the United Nations” (April). It covers events and Member States dynamics in the Open-ended Working Group and in the Security Council during the 62nd General Assembly session, and - as the Open-ended Working Group is about to meet on 11 November 2008 - also on the road ahead.

Will a Resolution to Strengthen Environmental Activities be Adopted this Year?
by Lydia Swart, 10 November 2008
On 30 October, an informal meeting took place on the draft resolution “Strengthening the environmental activities in the United Nations system.” Member States provided feedback on the draft resolution made available on 23 July which was a revision of the 2 May original Chairmen’s version. This analysis explores the chances of this resolution being adopted by the end of this year.

Calls for Reform as the 62nd GA Session Ends and the 63rd Opens
by Emanuel Evans, 6 October 2008
On Monday, 15 September 2008, the 62nd Session of the General Assembly formally ended a with speech by outgoing General Assembly President, Srgjan Kerim. The following day, incoming president, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, opened the 63rd GA by underscoring to Member states the need for increased democratization of the United Nations. 'Democratization of the UN' would also be one of the main themes of the general debate as world leaders met from 23 September to 29 September, with many countries especially highlighting the ongoing efforts to reform the Security Council, revitalize the General Assembly and increase coherence of the UN system.

Denmark Remains Committed to UN Peacekeeping - but is Contemplating SHIRBRIG Pull-Out
by Jonas von Freiesleben, 6 August 2008
In the middle of June 2008 several Danish media outlets reported that the governments of Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland are seriously considering withdrawing their support for the United Nations Standby High Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG) - a rapid deployment capacity established in 1996 at the initiative of Denmark. The Center for UN Reform Education met with Danish Defense Minister, H.E. Mr. Søren Gade, in Copenhagen for a talk about future Danish engagement in multilateral military operations.

Improving System-wide Coherence: An Albanian Perspective on "Delivering as One"
by Jonas von Freiesleben, 24 July 2008
The Center for UN Reform Education recently sat down with Andris Stastoli from the Albanian UN Mission to talk about Albanian experiences as a "Delivering as One" pilot country and the future of the process of System-wide Coherence as seen from New York.

A Look at the Transitional Approach to Security Council Reform
by Jonas von Freiesleben, 24 June 2008
At the last meeting of the Open-Ended Working Group on Security Council reform, on 17 June 2008, a task force composed of ambassadors and appointed by the GA President presented their status report. It included a reform suggestion based on the idea of a transitional approach. According to this approach, Member States would agree on basic reforms now, with a view to revisiting them at a later mandatory review conference; at which time they could be reversed or amended. The following provides some additional insight on the legal and political implications of such a transitional approach.

"If Dunkin’ Donuts Can Do It, Why Can’t the UN?"
by Jonas von Freiesleben, 22 May 2008
“If a donut shop and an ice cream place can share retail space, why can’t the UN agencies cooperate better with each other?” That is the question Sally Fegan-Wyles, director of the UN Development Group, posed when the Center for UN Reform Education interviewed her in her New York office. Among other things, Fegan-Wyles talked about the Delivering as One-projects and the developing process towards increased coherence of the United Nations system.

The Governance Crisis in the Fifth Committee
by Lydia Swart, 7 May 2008
This analysis explores the premise that there is a governance crisis in the Fifth Committee (Budgetary and Administrative) and is based on conversations with a number of key delegates from the EU, Group of 77, and the US as well as other insiders. In addition, significant dynamics taking place between Member States are described and the issues that will be under discussion in the May session of the Fifth Committee are outlined.

Thematic Debate: Towards a Common Understanding on Management Reform
8-9 April 2008
Member States met for a two-day thematic debate on Management Reform. On 8 April, the Secretary-General, GA President, and Member States made statements, while on 9 April, a more interactive debate took place which included presentations from oversight bodies and the Secretariat.