With constant consolidation and rapprochement, mankind strove to create supranational organizations. For a long time, these were only regional blocs, but in the twentieth century, global military and peaceful organizations appeared. First it was the League of Nations, and then the United Nations Organization, which has somehow regulated the world processes for several decades. However, the events of recent years show that UN reforms are clearly required. It is about them that we will talk today in the framework of our article.
UN Challenges
All modern problems on which the UN is “slipping” can be divided into two groups:
- unstable and uncertain position of the organization in the world;
- the administrative structure of the UN itself.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the organization was created in the context of the ongoing war, when the formation of a bipolar world with two superpowers was in progress, and most of the world was in the position of colonies.
More than seven decades have passed since then, and the UN has never seriously reformed. Currently, you can count, without hesitation, a dozen problems that make this organization completely ineffective. Given the position and power of the UN in the world, this is simply unacceptable. Problems accumulated for decades, but cautious politicians still did not dare to carry out serious transformations, confining themselves to small reforms, fearing to bring down the existing situation. That was until the eccentric American president D. Trump appeared, who was not afraid to say about the need for reform. What is the essence of the UN reform of the American leader who decided to make radical changes in this organization?
Adjustments to the UN structure and regulations
The first decades of the existence of the UN were associated with the events of the Cold War and the rivalry of superpowers for spheres of their influence. Then it was, in fact, not at all before the UN reforms. Both sides wanted to use their influence in the organization solely in their own interests and to support military allies.
Of course, in such conditions there could be no place for serious transformations. Among the rare reforms, it is necessary to single out an increase in the number of Security Council members from 11 to 15. This move was caused by an increase in the number of UN member countries from 51 in 1945 to 113 in 1963 and the need to provide developing countries with the right to participate in the activities of the Security Council.
At the end of the confrontation, in the nineties of the last century the number of implemented resolutions increased, the UN presence in the world strengthened. The Security Council is gradually acquiring certain functions of a supranational government (the creation of intermittent administrations, the imposition of sanctions, etc.). So the development of events went on until the fall of 2017. When the UN reform began, the United States began to radically change the external and internal situation of this organization.
Trump's performance
The American president first addressed the world on this issue from the UN rostrum in the fall of 2017, noting the importance of transforming this organization.
Trump lamented that the UN cannot work efficiently due to improper administration and the omnipotence of the bureaucracy. He noted that since the beginning of the century, UN funding has more than doubled, but the organization’s performance remains low. The US President proposed transforming the UN, supporting a ten-point declaration at the next Assembly. No one knew the contents of the document.
Farther
Since that time, many events began to revolve in the field of UN Trump reform. The points of his transformations concerned too many people. It should be noted that Trump has repeatedly stated the UN’s shortcomings, indicating that the United States contributes the largest amount to its budget. He thought it was wrong that America spends about ten billion dollars every year on UN activities — money in excess of the investments of the rest of the organization.
Trump Declaration
A common declaration includes 10 points of UN reform. In it, the United States proposes reforms in the UN system to improve activities in all areas. This can be done, according to Trump, by reducing the number of employees in the organization.
The US delegation wrote and sent this document to the staff of all missions of UN member states before the first meetings in September 2017. All were familiarized with the points in advance.
Finance
It should be borne in mind that the Trump project is aimed mainly at the financial sphere of the world organization. The main part of the items of the proposed declaration on the transformation of the UN to a certain extent is connected specifically with the monetary sector. For example, the document contains discussions about the importance of strengthening control over the separation of money received by the UN, increasing the transparency of financial spending, reducing duplication or excess mandates of leading UN agencies. The Trump UN Declaration on Reform also contains a clause stating that all countries in the organization bear full responsibility for their own economic situation.
US policy
Trump's active policy has led to the division of the world into opponents and supporters of its transformations. According to the US president, 10 points of UN reform are vacillating and are influenced by serious factors. First, the States, as a permanent member of the Security Council, does not want to lose their privileged position and decisive vote. Secondly, the existing power of the United States in all areas is so great that even without official privileges, they can control the leaders of a significant part of the second-tier states and similarly establish the necessary advantage in their interests.
Third, in recent years there has been a tendency for the United States to lose its dominant position in the world. Their economic, financial and political control over allies and satellites is decreasing and decreasing over the years. China is increasingly taking the lead. It is followed by a whole series of next large economies (including the BRICS member states). In the future, the possibility of the emergence of the danger of crowding out a weakening superpower is obvious. These and other factors, which are very controversial and multilevel, make the US position ambiguous and vacillating, fundamentally changing the essence of UN reform. In general, there is still no clarity on this issue.
Transformation Supporters
The countries that signed the UN reform declaration immediately turned out to be about 130.
A week later, 142 states out of more than 190 agreed to endorse this American document on the organization’s transformations during the UN. They even issued a statement to the UN Secretary General, Anthony Gutterisch, demanding urgent implementation of the contents of the Trump declaration. Such powerful, one might even say, demonstrative support for the US position least of all indicates that they see themselves as satellites of this superpower. Just too many states have accumulated, dissatisfied with their position in the UN.
Which countries have signed the UN reform declaration? Relatively speaking, now we can distinguish several groups of states requiring a change in their position:
- economically and politically strong countries that play a large role in the regional and world space, but have a disproportionately modest role in the UN (primarily Germany and Japan);
- countries that were colonies or semi-colonies in 1944, but by the beginning of the twenty-first century already playing an excessively high role in the world (India, a number of Latin American countries, etc.);
- finally, overall economic growth has allowed the rest of the countries to approach others and, if not demanding a special place for themselves, then at least for their representative.
The United States has met the demands of these countries in order to increase the number of its supporters and at the same time reduce its financial burden.
Opponents
There were significantly fewer states that opposed the essence of UN reform or took a neutral position. First of all, these are global political opponents, who feared the loss of their influence (Russia, China), “rogue countries” like the DPRK, Venezuela and others, ordinary opponents of the foundations of next reforms. Since there were less than a third of them, this predetermines the weakness of the position. On the other hand, among the opponents of the reforms are three permanent members of the Security Council (60%), and indeed, the fact that almost one in three is against Trump's reforms indicates the need to make concessions while maintaining the basic position.
Although a number of sources reported a "possible intrigue" of transformation. Will our country continue to be a permanent member of such an important body as the UN Security Council, the owner of the veto in it? Earlier, many prominent politicians proposed depriving her of her position, representatives from Ukraine were especially active. Indeed, no vote was taken to maintain Russia's membership in the Security Council. But, most likely, all this will be used for subsequent reforms.
Reform Discussion Progress
Of course, the countries that signed the UN reform and its opponents behaved differently. Nevertheless, it became increasingly clear that reforms were needed, and the United Nations (UN), in fact, lay on a basis that was alien to the ideal, and its time had come to change its principles. In the meantime, reputable parties, including the United States, are making all kinds of proposals. During meetings and discussions on this subject, there are active discussions.
Obviously, in the discussion process, not only the crystallization of positions takes place, but also their rapprochement. Now Russia has already agreed with the reforms, dwelling only on the principles of transformation and on their details. In turn, the US is softening its position. Indeed, it is clear to all prudent politicians (McCain and Klimkin that are clearly not among them) that transformations in organizations are possible only on the basis of a compromise.
Therefore, today, the key participants in world politics, while studying the situation, are considering which position is most beneficial for them in the short-term (today) and long-term (for the future) perspective and how deeply UN reforms should be pursued.
Prospects
Experts believe that during these reforms, which reveal the UN reform declaration and subsequent events, the following organization principles will be implemented:
- Liquidation of a privileged circle of states-winners according to the results of the Second World War.
- Complete liquidation of the veto (it cannot be said that this is a positive step, but still).
- Equal rights of all member states (based on the concept of “one state - one vote”, or at least the distribution of rights is proportional to the number of people or with some other specific coefficient showing a group of citizens actually located behind the representative office).
- Approval of the main decisions only by the UN General Assembly.
- Some of the most important decisions (on the use of armed force, economic and foreign policy sanctions, etc.) must be adopted jointly (the vote of only one country “against” can be decisive).
- Events on the above-mentioned critical issues (the use of force, sanctions, etc.) outside the organization’s decisions must be prohibited, they must be analyzed as a gross distortion of the charter and international law, and their active violators must themselves end up under sanctions themselves.
Summary
Trump's reform initiative was predictable. Organization clearly became an anachronism in our dynamic time. Therefore, the objective base was built up very solid. The questions were different: who will be the author and which direction will he choose? The extravagant Trump decided, highlighting the pace, paths and significance of the transformations. Now it remains only to wait for what will happen and how promising the innovations will be.