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Evaluating the United Nations Reform Movement
“Reforming the United Nations has been a priority
for this Secretary-General since his term began in 1997…The Organization
has faced an unprecedented series of challenges to meet the demands of
Member States and yet its operations continue to need updating to be
able to handle these tasks.”
Pinpointing development, security, and
human rights meant everything for United Nations Secretary-General
Annan’s “In Larger Freedom” speech. For developing nations, Annan urged
the adoption of the Millennium Goals by 2015, and for those with fears
of internal and external terrorism, he submitted a new security measure
to include unionized extinguishing of terrorism, threatening weapons,
and civil wars. He presented his speech as a unified package—labeled
consecutively as Freedom from Want, Freedom from Fear,
Freedom to Live in Dignity, and Strengthening the United Nations—for
world leaders to accept wholly as he moves the United Nations in the
process of reform. When gathered at High-Level Summit in September of
2005, those world leaders did indeed accept many of the
Secretary-General’s proposals, and “their decision represents a historic
opportunity to bring about important programmatic and management changes
to ensure that the United Nations of tomorrow has the institutional
foundation to succeed in the tasks asked of it by the Member States,”
remarks the Management Reform Update at the United Nations Reform
Website. (http://www.un.org/reform/reform_update.html)
Directly upon receiving validation for a full-scale
reform process, Annan took the initiative for pushing five major
sections of corruption prevention policies and strengthening management
routine. In the United Nations structural outline, the reforms fall
under the following five categories: Ensuring Ethical Conduct,
Strengthening Oversight and Accountability, Updating the Organization,
Improving Senior Management Performance, and Increasing Transparency.
The Ethics Office of the United Nations offers a great reform in
protecting those “[revealed] in wrongdoing within an organization,”
controlling “an ethics office,” and distinguishing corruption in other
forms. Because of the General Assembly’s complaints in management
oversight, a new oversight committee will include a new structure of
“three internal and one external member.” The addition of chambers, it
is hoped by the United Nations, will also contribute to corruption
prevention within the organization. In looking to any future needs of
the United Nations, the section entitled Updating the Organization will
attempt to manage financial regulations better. As another management
reform, the Senior Management Performance proposals will create a new
system of “management training” to “enhance leadership;” under these
terms, the Management Performance Board (MPB) will evaluate all senior
managers and confer with the Secretary-General upon observation. Lastly,
the Increasing Transparency measurement will balance the need for
transparent Nations documents while also considering “confidentiality
where needed.” Targeted aspirations for this section hope for the “best
practices in public administration around the world for making documents
accessible,” which the Office of Legal Affairs will also aid in
administration of.
While threats of corruption settle as true encumbrances
to the administration of the United Nations, equal complaints about
keeping the peace in foreign affairs and disasters have their own
effect. To quiet the complaints, Annan started the High-Level Panel to
run with the primary focus of global security threats. The Panel will
confide their reactions and suggestions to “major threats and challenges
the world faces in broad field of peace and security, including economic
and social issues.” Taken with equal importance in the reform movements
in global issues is the United Nation’s Promotion for Protection of
Human Rights Worldwide. Labeled as “Action 2,” as it fell in Annan’s
2002 Reform Speech, the Secretary-General holds this concern with
deep-seated concern in foreign relations at an international level; he
even commented, “The promotion and protection of human rights is a
bedrock requirement for the realization of the Charter’s vision of a
just and peaceful world.” The standards for the Human Rights Promotion
include following elements taken from the Action 2 Official Website (http://www.un.org/events/action2/summary.html):
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Laws consistent
with international human rights standards.
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Effective
functioning of courts, judiciary and law enforcement as well as
independent human rights institutions or ombudsman.
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Procedures for
individuals to effectively claim one’s rights.
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Good governance
and accountable government institutions that promote and protect human
rights.
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Democratic,
open, transparent and participatory decision making process.
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Strong civil
society, including a free and independent media.
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