Reform of the UN
But while the need for reform is widely acknowledged, change is not likely. During this week's General Assembly debate, nearly every president, prime minister and foreign minister called for a revamp of the council, which often makes decisions on war and peace that are mandatory for the world to follow. The council's failure to come to an agreement on the war in Iraq threw the controversy into stark relief once more.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the 191-member Assembly that failure to find a solution had gone on long enough, a decade to be exact. "I would respectfully suggest to you, Excellencies, that in the eyes of your peoples the difficulty of reaching agreement does not excuse your failure to do so," Annan said (Reuters, 9/15.03).
RH: Ronald Hilton - 10.03.03
UN security council reform is unlikely; The UN Security Council is heavily weighted towards the northern industrial world, and excludes poorer nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia from permanent membership along with major powers like Germany and Japan.
Several nations want a seat on the Security Council, largely as a matter of prestige, like having one of its nationals elected Pope or one of its writers receiving the Nobel Prize for literature. The General Assembly, in which ministates have the same status as major powers, would like to have more authority. Responsibility for keeping the peace lies with the major powers. The UN must not be allowed to become as ineffectual as "The Organization of American States", http://www.oas.org/
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