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| Sunday, 24 July 2005 |
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UN unveils revised draft of ambitious reform blueprint UNITED NATIONS, Saturday (AFP) A revised draft for the most sweeping overhaul of the 60-year-old United Nations, including a proposed expansion of the Security Council, was released Friday less than two months before it is to be submitted to a summit world leaders here. "It is a work in progress," Dutch UN ambassador Dirk Jan van den Berg, one of the diplomats tasked with shepherding the mammoth project through the UN machinery, told reporters. "It is an important step toward preparation of the summit." The blueprint outlined 159 recommendations that expanded on UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's "In larger freedom" report presented in March on preparations for the September world summit. The recommendations focus on Security Council enlargement, creation of a peacebuilding commission to assist countries emerging from conflict and replacing the discredited Human Rights Commission with a leaner Human Rights Council made up of members that "undertake to abide by the highest human rights standards. They also provide for a commitment to a timetable to hike official development aid to 0.7 per cent of gross national income, agreement on a convention providing a legal definition of terrorism and a commitment to end impunity for the most serious crimes, such as genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The latest draft is to be discussed by member states next week and is likely to be amended again before it comes for consideration by world leaders at their September 14-16 summit ahead of the UN General Assembly. One of the most controversial item involves the enlargement of the Security Council, which currently groups five permanent and veto-wielding members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - along with 10 rotating non-permanent members without veto power. "We support comprehensive reform of the Security Council to make it more broadly representative, more efficient and transparent so as to enhance the legitimacy of its decisions and its effectiveness," the UN reform blueprint said. But three competing draft resolutions on the issue have been submitted to
the General Assembly, where a two-third majority is needed for passage. |
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