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Polity Class 12 (Part 1): Reforms of the UN After the Cold War

Reforms of the UN After the Cold War

  • The world has changed drastically after the Cold War and to cater to the changing geopolitical environment, the United Nations (UN) needs to bring about certain reforms.
  • The equation of superpowers has now changed with the US being a superpower, but various countries such as China are now emerging along with South Asian economies. Issues like Terrorism and Climate Change that have permeated on the global front need to be addressed effectively.

UN presently faces reforms at two ends

  •     Organization’s structures and processes
  •     Jurisdiction of the organization – extent, and issues

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Reform of Structures and Processes

  •     The UN Security Council forms the most important matter at hand for the UN
  • On several occasions, attention has been brought upon the issue of UN Security Council reforms. The veto power is an extraordinary power granted to major world powers by the United Nations Charter. This power allows any member of the UN Security Council to block a resolution that comes before the council. Some permanent members have used this power in recent years to block resolutions while ongoing atrocity crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, and/or war crimes) have occurred. Such vetoes have stopped the condemnation, investigation, and prosecution of crimes, as well as other measures aimed at preventing them

Instances bringing attention to the issue

Three main complaints were raised in 1992 when the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution. These were:

  •     The UN Security Council did not reflect on contemporary geopolitical reality
  •     Domination of certain powers and over-emphasis on western values was evident
  •     Representation of states in the UN Security Council was deemed to be inequitable

    Various suggestions and interventions have been proposed for the induction of new permanent and non-permanent members since these events. These are:

  •     A major economic power
  •     A major military power
  •     A considerate contributor to the budget of the UN
  •     A big nation in terms of its population
  •     A nation respecting and standing up for democracy and human rights
  •     A country that could make the Council a better representative of the world’s diversity in terms of geography, economic system, and culture
  •     The UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, on 1st January 1997, initiated an inquiry into the reforms that could be implemented in the UN
  •     Various states have contemplated over the veto power granted to the permanent members which they feel is a violation of the concept of democracy and sovereign equality among the nation-states. Hence, they have sought the removal of veto power granted to the permanent members

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Structure of Security Council

  •     The Security Council at present has 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members chosen among the nation-states. A privileged position in the form of veto was granted to the permanent members to provide some stability in the turbulent time’s post World War II
  •     Non-permanent members are elected for a 2-year term from the nation-states among the United Nations General Assembly
  •     Countries that are non-permanent members are not eligible for immediate re-election and are chosen in such a way as to represent all continents
  •     Non-permanent countries have voting rights but have no veto power

Veto Power

“Veto Power” refers to the power of negative veto, where one of the permanent members can stall any decision of the UN Security Council even if a majority of permanent or non-permanent members agree to it. The decisions at the UN Security Council are taken by voting on particular resolutions.

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Reforms in the Jurisdiction of the UN

A meeting of the Heads of the various Nation States of the UN in 2005 concluded the following steps should be taken to reform the UN as per the contemporary demands:

  •     Creation of a Peace Building Commission
  •   In case of failures of national governments to protect their citizens from atrocities, acceptance of the responsibility of the international community
  •   Creation of a Human Rights Council (operational since 19 June 2006)
  • Agreements to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
  •     Condemning terrorism and all its forms with its manifestations
  •     Establishment of a Democracy Fund
  •     Abolition of Trusteeship Council

These reforms have become supplements to the UN’s ability to deal with any geopolitical crisis that arises, any humanitarian crisis, and to help nation-states in achieving their Sustainable Development Goals, etc.

Conclusion 

There have been numerous calls for UN reforms since the late 1990s (UN). However, there is a lack of clarity and agreement on what reform might entail in practise. The term “UN reform” is used to describe the ideas of both those who want the UN to play a larger role in world affairs and those who want it to be limited to humanitarian work or otherwise reduced. Opinions range from those who want to abolish the UN entirely to those who want it to become a full-fledged global government.