Issue 63 March 1998
BEYOND REFORM: the United Nations in a New Era
The above title sets the scene for the Stanley Foundation's Thirty-Second United Nations of the Next Decade Conference, which took place in Switzerland, 8-13 June, 1997.
Acknowledging the efforts already being made for UN reform, the President of the Stanley Foundation, Richard H. Stanley, said in his opening remarks that what was still lacking in the current reform efforts was "the serious consideration and evaluation of the changed and changing nature of the world and how that affects governance needs". Post-Cold War change and globalization have produced a radical reordering of how the world works, he maintained.
Although the past decade has seen many attempts to define a new world order, most have tended to recast new problems in old contexts, "resulting in similar old prescriptions". Too often, said Mr. Stanley, these definitions have failed to take recent experiences into account: "the globalization of information and communication, illustrated by the Internet; a change in the nature of armed conflicts from international to intranational...the development of the World Trade Organization, NAFTA, and a growing list of other regional trade and economic groups; gaining a better understanding of the benefits and drawbacks of a globalized economy; the rise of new security threats from subnational terrorist groups with weapons of mass destruction; the collapse of ideologies and states; the reality of post-apartheid South Africa...". The eroding sovereignty of nation-states and the increasing people involvement in national as well as international affairs must also be considered.
The Stanley Foundation's President also made it clear that the main aim for the deliberations of this conference were not so much to assess the United Nations per se as to develop an understanding of what kind of United nations will be needed for the twenty-first century. "In so doing, we will go beyond"... saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war... "toward creating a world which is more secure, peaceful, free, and just for all humankind."
During the following days' discussions, the participants looked at the changing concept of sovereignty, largely due to the increasing influence of non-state actors, such as NGOs and civil society. While some saw this trend as threatening to the nations' ability to exercise control and to interact consistently with the world, others felt that the growing involvement of non-state actors could be seens as "a rejuvenating force that enriches and challenges the nation-state and breathes new life into the meaning of democracy." The state itself might well also come to feel renewed and strengthened.
Discussing the trends and developments within the field of Peace and Security, the many conflicts within states and between peoples of different faith and culture were among the issues of particular concern. It was pointed out that the existence of separate identities among tribal or other ethnic communities does not in itself necessarily lead to conflict:
"Instead, individuals who possess or seek positions of power often manipulate these differences for their own political purposes. This pitting of ethnic, religious, and social groups against one another creates conflict within states and successfully masks the real roots of insecurity, such as widening social and economic cleavages, failed public policies, expanding and migrating populations, resource depletion, and environmental degradation. In fact...poverty and widening economic inequality in the developing world may be the most serious source of instability and, if the gap between rich and poor widens, this instability could become a primary source of intrastate conflict."
Participants generally agreed that there was today a tendency to manage conflicts rather than to prevent them. There is a great need for a permanent mechanism of preventative diplomacy which is able to identify where crises may occur.
Many of the participants were very concerned about today's conventional arms trade, pointing out that this is a very lucrative business, not least for those nations who are finding the transition to a market economy difficult. Although more nations produce arms for export and the international community struggles to develop support for arms control and disarmament, the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, responsible for some 85% of the arms trade, show little incentive to reduce their export of conventional arms.
The Conference participants discussed at great length the many important issues relating to economic globalisation and the changes this inevitably brings to our society and global environment. The goal of "positive and sustainable economic results with openness and equity in access to their benefits" was supported at the meeting but there was also great concern that globalization of the world economy is causing "significant readjustments in businesses and national economics" which again has caused "concurrent widening of the economic gap between haves and have-nots... often to the detriment of nations' democratic processes":
"In many industrialised countries...people are increasingly facing loss of jobs due to corporate downsizing, an erosion of social safety-net, a growing gap in income distribution, and a growing concentration of wealth."
It was noted that governments seem no longer to be 'governing' but handing over the care of people to the 'profit-drive' private business sector. This was seen to be causing much disillusionment and anxiety among people and also giving rise to serious scrutiny of the merits of capitalism. One participant commented that Capitalism is being exposed for what it is – a global economic system that "has no soul", and another observed that "these are pre-revolutionary times". It was argued that the great inequalities accompanying globalization of the economy require public intervention to compensate for market deficiencies and excesses.
The impact of economic globalisation on the environment was debated and some agreed that there was "no real choice" between economic growth and environmental preservation: the challenge is to grow economies in an environmentally responsible way...
Discussing the International Rule of Law it was generally agreed that, although there is law governing many types of international behaviour, there is currently no legal system that is empowered to regulate, monitor, or enforce compliance with international law (i.e. trial and appellate courts, administrative tribunals, magistrates, police and prisons). What is needed, noted one participant, to effectuate the international rule of law is the existence of an 'international community' in the true sense of the expression. The rule of law is predicated on the existence of a society that shares a common cultural respect for an acceptance of orderliness.
"What is any community but a group of individuals that share common values such as a shared willingness to protect the weak, to respect individual human rights, to respond to danger and disaster, and to comply with and support the rule of law?"
What follows is a variety of proposals and recommendations which were formulated during meetings throughout the conference but not necessarily agreed to by all participants:
International Institutions
--Create smaller, more focused international institutions as they are more effective than institutions with broad mandates
--Encourage informal participation in international institutions of players who are traditionally disenfranchised from intergovernmental process
--Encourage more NGOs in the South
--Consider modelling governance of future organisations on the GEF double majority system*
--Promote development of regional organisations
--Employ a civil service that is genuinely skilled in the particular tasks for which they are needed
--Reassess all international organisations in light of massive economic globalization
Peace and Security
--Create a permanent mechanism of preventative diplomacy
--Expand G-7 discussion to include security issues
--Review NATO expansion and its relation to broader global security institutions
--Explore a broader role for regional organisations in managing intrastate conflict
--Provide more financial and human resources to internally displaced persons and refugees
--Create highly specialised, professional (depoliticised) agencies to deal with weapons of mass destruction)
Economic Development
--Address the growing serious inequalities between rich and poor
--Maintain UN involvement in economic development programmes but conduct comprehensive assessment and overhaul
--Focus UN development activities on the least developed countries, trimming its current mandate
--Explore the creation of an economic security council
Environment
--Enhance UN involvement in international environmental norm-setting
--Encourage coordination among environmental groups and NGOs
--Promote greater involvement of environmental groups in stemming population
--Establish an international organisation of professional scientists to provide environmental groups and policymakers with hard scientific data free of bias
Trade, Finance, and Investment
--Impose a new regulatory regime on international, private financial transactions
--Restore G-7 summit meetings to their original purpose, i.e. macroeconomics consultation and cooperation
International Rule of Law
--Work toward creation of an international legal system, including courts, tribunals, as well as police and prisons to enhance effectiveness of international law
* GEF – the Global Environment Fund – which originated as a pilot programme of the World Bank in 1991, has evolved into the only international fund for global environment protection where priorities are set by the participating nations themselves. It is a funding mechanism that helps to implement Agenda 21. It has a 'double majority' voting system where each nation has two types of vote: one country gets one vote and the other is weighted on the level of monetary contribution.
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