Report by Daniel Safran-Hon, 30 June 2009

The Secretary-General commented on the status of system wide coherence in an informal session of the General Assembly concerning the issue. Convened by the two Co-Chairs – Ambassadors of Namibia and Spain and taking place on the 22 June 2009, it was the last informal consultation on this issue during the 63rd GA and will be followed by bilateral and group discussions by the two Co-Chairs leading to a plenary meeting towards the end of the current GA session.

In his opening remarks, the SG accentuated the importance he places on the process of system wide coherence especially in light of the current challenges such as the financial crisis. His remarks (SG's full remarks) concentrated on the five areas of the system-wide coherence process: funding, governance, gender, “delivering-as-one” and the harmonization of business practices.

29 June 2009

Member States met on 22 and 23 June 2009 to discuss the working methods of the Security Council in the last installment of the second round of intergovernmental negotiations on Council reform. The contents or dates of a third round have not yet been made public.

Prior to the meeting, the Chair, Ambassador Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan, had circulated a letter to Member States in which he proposed that Member States discuss "...the functions and powers of the Security Council, voting in the Security Council, and procedure." In his opening statement, he further specified that "This exchange will give you the opportunity to build on the first round and explore the many linkages between these issues."

16 June 2009

Following the end of the first round of negotiations on Security Council reform, and the subsequent release of the Chairman's overview of these proceedings, Member States met on 22 and 26 May and on 11 and 12 June to further narrow down the reform options in a second round of negotiations.

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During the first round of intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform in March and April 2009, Member States presented their respective views and perspectives on how to reform the Council in a series of five meetings each dedicated to a specific key issue. The aim was not to reach any definite solution during the first round, but simply to lay out all available options on the table with a view to later narrow them down in subsequent negotiations rounds.

20 May 2009

Ambassador Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan, Chairman and facilitator of the intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, released yesterday a paper summarizing the first round of negotiations as well as outlining the process during the coming second round. Member States will meet on Friday, 22 May 2009, to discuss the issue.

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In September 2008, Member States decided to move the deadlocked discussions on Security Council reform from the Open-ended Working Group to intergovernmental negotiations in an informal plenary of the General Assembly, with the hope of infusing some new momentum into the discussions.

24 April 2009

Member States met on 20 April 2009 to discuss the relationship between the General Assembly and the Security Council in the fifth and last meeting in a first round of negotiations on how to reform the Security Council.

The meeting, which took place in a closed conference room at the UN, was mainly aimed at allowing states to express their respective perspectives on the issue at hand, and not so much at reaching definite agreement at this point.

The Issue

In general, the question of the relationship between the Security Council and General Assembly has been at the center of an ongoing power struggle between the two major organs of the organization.

10 April 2009

Member States met on 7 and 8 April to discuss the size and working methods of the Security Council. It was the fourth of five meetings devoted to a number of key issues involved in an overall reform of the Council.

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After last week's meeting on regional representation in the Security Council, countries spent two days discussing the size and working methods of the Council. The closed meeting was the fourth of five in a first round of general talks on reform. The round is aimed at allowing states to express their respective perspectives on the issues, rather than reaching definite solutions. A second and more focused round is expected to follow some time in May.

2 April 2009

Member States met on 24 and 31 March to discuss 'regional representation' in the framework of Security Council reform. The two-day long meeting revealed that countries seriously disagree on the applicability of regional representation in the Security Council.

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After extensive meetings on new categories of membership of a reformed Council and the veto, Member States turned their attention to the issue of regional representation.

Regional representation, and the idea that regional organizations could fill permanent seats, has long been promoted by Italy and its allies in the Uniting for Consensus faction (UfC). National representation on the other hand has been supported by Brazil, Germany, India and Japan in the Group of Four (G4) as well as by the African group, with the latter advocating that it should be left to the African Union to decide on what countries get African seats.

18 March 2009

Member States met on 16 and 17 March to discuss the veto in the second of five meetings devoted to different substantive issues connected to Security Council reform.

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After finishing the first meeting in early March on new categories of membership of a reformed Council, countries turned their attention to the issue of the veto. Delegates involved in the negotiations say that the issue of the veto - and whether to grant any new permanent members this right - remains one of the main sticking points dividing the 192 Member States.

6 March 2009

Member States met on 4 March and 5 March to discuss the first of five key issues related to Security Council reform. During the meeting, a large number of countries presented their perspectives on what new categories of membership should be added to a reformed Council.

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After having completed several lengthy meetings on the format, procedures and rules of the intergovernmental negotiations during November, December, January and February, Member States finally met on 4 and 5 March to discuss the substantive issues related to an eventual reform of the Security Council. According to a previously released work plan by the President of the General Assembly, Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann and the Chairman of the intergovernmental negotiations, Ambassador Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan, countries would begin with discussing the different options for new categories of membership, followed by meetings on the veto, regional representation, size of an enlarged Council and its working methods and lastly, the relationship between the Council and the General Assembly.

by Lydia Swart
5 March 2009

Upon taking office, the current President of the General Assembly (GA), Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, made GA revitalization and democratization of the United Nations top priorities of his presidency. His recent attempt, however, to make the Assembly more relevant by addressing the crisis in Gaza - in his own assessment - failed.

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On 20 November 2008, when addressing the revitalization of the work of the GA – an item on the UN's reform agenda for more than 18 years – the GA President said: “I believe we need to take radical steps to regain the authority of the GA so that it can perform its duties as the most democratic organ of the United Nations.”