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THE CENTER'S LATEST PUBLICATION:

Managing Change at the United Nations

Introduction
Security Council Reform
Revitalization of the General Assembly
System-wide Coherence
Secretariat and Management Reform
The Establishment of the Human Rights Council

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Secretary-General Comments on System Wide Coherence
Report by Daniel Safran-Hon, 30 June 2009
The Secretary-General commented on the status of system wide coherence in an informal session of the General Assembly concerning the issue. Convened by the two Co-Chairs – Ambassadors of Namibia and Spain and taking place on the 22 June 2009, it was the last informal consultation on this issue during the 63rd GA and will be followed by bilateral and group discussions by the two Co-Chairs leading to a plenary meeting towards the end of the current GA session.

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.