Is Now the Right Time for UN Reform? It’s the Best Time, BIC Says During Talks

Is Now the Right Time for UN Reform? It’s the Best Time, BIC Says During Talks

Ambassador Christopher Lu, of the United States, and BIC Representative Daniel Perell at "Tipping the Scales"
Ambassador Christopher Lu, of the United States, and BIC Representative Daniel Perell at "Tipping the Scales”
New York—3 November 2022

Fundamental change to global governance systems was at the heart of a Baha’i International Community (BIC) event co-hosted recently with the Coalition for the United Nations We Need, entitled “Tipping the Scales: Proposals for UN Reform in a Time of Need.”

In addition to considering a number of proposals for reform, the event also explored how such proposals can be implemented—getting from ideation to actualization, in the words of one attendee. 

“Too often in the UN we spend a lot of time talking about the what and the when and the why, but not the how,” said Ambassador Christopher Lu, of the United States, one of the event’s featured respondents. 

“Think outside the current construct of the UN,” Ambassador Lu added, urging attendees to be audacious in their consultations. “If you were designing it all from scratch, what would you do?”

The fifth in a series exploring the Our Common Agenda (OCA) report of the UN Secretary General, the event attracted around 100 in-person and online participants, including representatives of over 20 Member States. An unattributed summary of the proceedings can be found here

Proposals for reform that were offered ranged widely in form and focus. They included setting a strong precedent in the establishment of the UN Youth Office, creating a standing UN Emergency Peace Service, restoring a measure of authority and autonomy to the Office of the Secretary General, and ensuring that needed action can be taken on the basis of majority decision, rather than be hamstrung by a desire for consensus. 

Significant discussion was sparked by a proposal offered by Augusto Lopez-Claros, Executive Director of the Global Governance Forum, on convening a General Conference for review of the UN Charter. Such a step, provided for under Article 109 of the Charter, could bring the legal foundations of the UN into the 21st century, said Lopez-Claros, and could be integrated with the upcoming Summit of the Future. 

Major reform initiatives like this are not without risk, participants noted. But perpetuating the status quo also involves risk—likely much greater in the long run. One attendee, for example, suggested that limiting ourselves to what is perceived to be realistic invites catastrophe. 

Also discussed was the complex relationship between crisis and reform. Change can be difficult in times of turmoil, especially when trust is lacking. Yet any crisis also interrupts the status quo and demonstrates why change is needed, potentially opening new possibilities. 

In the face of climate change, COVID, and conflict, among other challenges, “people ask whether now is the time to also be trying to reform the UN,” related BIC Representative Daniel Perell, who moderated the event. “My response is, this is the best time to do it, because we recognize the fundamental need.” 

Another point of emphasis was the need for an inclusive and collaborative relationship between the UN and civil society. “One of the central parts of the OCA report is the idea of a renewed social contract that is anchored in trust, inclusion, protection, participation, and measuring and valuing what matters to people and planet,” said Kavita Desai, with the Quaker United Nations Office.

Underlying the discussion was a common recognition that coordinated global action has become the only viable foundation for addressing many of humanity’s most pressing challenges. 

“The question we face,” Lopez-Claros said in closing remarks, “is whether actions to be taken in the coming years to address the risks we face will be a matter of conscious choice and prevention, reflecting broad ranging consultations across various stakeholder groups, or whether they will be prompted by the destruction and suffering brought on by climate change, conflict, and so on.”