Think the UN should be reformed? How to contribute!

[Stockholm]

The Four Nations Initiative on Governance and Management of the UN (Chile, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand)

Background
There is a broad understanding that the agenda of different challenges to the United Nations depends largely on successful reform and modernisation of governance and management systems. But it is not just a quick fix. It is about changing a culture. Experience shows that successful change cannot be achieved in a short time. It is a matter of substance as well as of process. An effort to get too many things done in a short time span will run the risk of creating a backlash and even risk the process as a whole.

The 2005 World Summit Outcome identifies a number of reform areas, and the process of implementation is now under way with quite a lot of time pressure. The Outcome Document calls on the Secretary-General to submit proposals for management reform in the first quarter of 2006. Consequently, the Secretary-General presented to the General Assembly on 7 March his report ”Investing in the United Nations”. The report covers six broad areas and, as a report by the management of the United Nations. Strongly focuses on human resources, information and communications technology and how to deliver services, but for obvious reasons is less specific on issues of governance and finance. On 30 March the Secretary-General submitted a review of all mandates older than five years. These reports will be followed by an independent external review of governance arrangements to be submitted by not later than 31 May 2006.

The present proposal for an input to the reform of the Secretariat took its start in early 2005, and has been elaborated in consultations between the Governments of Chile, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand.

Purpose and context
The purpose of the Four Nations Initiative is to address issues of governance and cooperation among the Member States of the United Nations as well as to address the structure and processes of the Secretariat itself. In short:

• The Four Nations Initiative has been conceived and elaborated by representatives of four concerned Member States.
• It is intended to focus on issues related to governance and, thereby, the management of the Secretariat. It is not mainly concerned with the overall challenges of the United Nations, but concentrates on how the Secretariat is governed and managed, as seen from a Member States perspective.
• It is designed to take a longer term perspective at governance and management reform and to be complementary to the agenda adopted by the 2005 World Summit and presently carried out by the Secretariat.
• It aims to contribute with building blocks to a new governance and management compact. The legitimacy of this initiative lies in the interface between governance and management.
• It is designed to provide further options for the reform agenda and does not necessarily bind any Government.
• It will last for 18 months and will be carried out in different phases.
• It has been planned in close consultation with and support of UN senior management in charge of the reform agenda adopted by the 2005 World Summit and the follow-up reports by the Secretary-General. It will include broad consultations with interested Member States and other interested parties as well as with UN staff.

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http://www.the4ni.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29

Discussion Forum

http://www.the4ni.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=35