Location: Brussels, Belgium
Date: 12 May, 2005
Hosted by: Mission of Canada to the European Union

Context: "When Leader's meet at the United Nations in September for the 5 year follow-up to the Millenium Summit they will have a rare political opportunity, one that comes once in a generation. On the table will be the Secretary‐General?s Report ?In Larger Freedom?. The UN and the conduct of international relations would be truly transformed if the report?s package of reforms were adopted. Perhaps inevitably, UN members are divided on many of the Report?s recommendations. Some are apprehensive that change will constrain their power and dilute their influence. Others feel the status quo is unsustainable. Some worry about undermining the principle of national sovereignty and lowering the normative barriers to unwarranted interference in internal affairs. Others fear there will be too little intervention and the wretched will be left to suffer what they must. Some believe legitimacy lies in greater Security Council representativeness and others argue for more effective performance. None of theses problems is simple and addressing them will not be business asusual. Leaders will be sitting down in New York with the moral obligation to surmount bureaucratic stasis and rise above narrow interests and act for the common good. That is what leaders are for. "

Papers

Nitin Desai		The Monterrey Consensus: Developing the Policy Innovations
Shepard Forman		Working Better Together: Implementing the High Level Panel's Recommendations on Peacebuilding
John W. McArthur		Ensuring Adequate Resources to Meet the MDGs
Kenneth Roth		The UN Commission on Human Rights: A Crises of Legitimacy and Possible Solutions
Ramesh Thakur		Freedom from Fear: Effective, Efficient, and Equitable Security

Backgrounders

Note: this backgrounder is a product of the UN Reform Conference that was hosted by CIGI on April 3-5, 2005

The UN: Adapting to the 21st Century