MUN/aboutUN/reform

The United Nations and Reform

Objectives

In this week you will: Learn about some current debates about the UN structure, and Learn about reform proposals for the UN. To prepare for your tutorials this week you should: Complete the reading and watch the video Complete the activities Complete the extension activities if you have time.

Reading and Resources

Engel, Susan. UN Reform: An Overview of Debates March 2018 OpenUOW.

Watch this short video on UN Security Council Reform

Inside Story - United Nations: Time for reform?

Al Jazeera English 2014

Extension Reading

Global Policy Forum, UN reform page - this website has a range of resources on different aspects of UN reform.

Schlichtmann, Klaus, 2011, An Enduring Concept for Security Council Reform, Beijing Law Review, Vol 2 pp. 97-110, accessed on 26th February 2014

Activity

Think about these questions, write some notes down and bring them to class or post a comment on twitter to your Facebook group or #UOWMUN. Research other models of UN reform, and write one paragraph on a model that has not been presented in your course material. Is the UN a viable institution that can be reformed, or should it be removed? Is world governance a viable option for solving the world's problems?

Extension exercise

Shashi Tharoor, delivering the Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture at the Sanford School at Duke University on 3rd January 2007. Tharoor was previously an Under-Secretary General at the United Nations. Does the United Nations Have a Future?