Overview on the democracy

WFUNA Newsletter: February 2009.

On the first International Day of Democracy, 15 September 2008, Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in his statement to the General Assembly that support of democracy is a central mission of the UN because “…the experience has taught us, time and again, that democracy is essential to achieving our fundamental goals of peace, human rights and development”.

The UN Charter is an elaborate manifestation of the common will and mission of “We the Peoples”. The underlying principle of democracy is at work in any effort made for human development – whether it is human rights, gender equality, universal education, or mediation for peace, eradication of poverty and diseases, promotion of e-Governance, or even environmental protection. All these processes lead, directly or indirectly, to a more equal and more responsible process of decision-making on political, economic and social issues.

The UN’s democratization efforts are needed more than ever these days. According to the 2008 State of the Future Report: 36% of the world’s population in 43 countries lives in an authoritarian regime; by mid-2008 there were 14 wars around the world, only one fewer than in 2007; 46 countries were identified to be at high risk of armed conflict; and 37 countries struggled with food shortages – to mention just a few of the “undemocratic” issues of our time. People who are lucky enough to not be facing any of these calamities, are nevertheless likely to be affected by the global financial crisis. That too, curtails democracy and it did so long before it came to the surface. Responsible citizenship and responsible governance seems to be overdue in so many areas of human existence.

While the United Nations is committed to the protection and promotion of democracy around the world, it admits the need of democratic reforms in its own system. The latter is linked directly to the former. As new and transformed challenges emerge in the 21st century, the UN needs to reform itself to adapt to the new political and world order. A reconsideration and restructuring of certain systems and practices is needed to empower the organization and maintain its relevance in a time of change.

In his first address to the 192-member forum in September 2008, Father Miguel D´Escoto Brockmann, president of the 63rd General Assembly stressed the importance and urgency of democratization within the UN so that the word democracy does not become empty, losing its real meaning or substance.

The President has taken it upon himself to actively promote democratic changes in the UN. He pinpointed three areas to be reformed throughout the year, the ones that he considers the root causes of the limited institutional capacity of the General Assembly. Therefore, he initiated a high level dialogue, to be held in three sessions throughout the year, the goal of which is to:

(1) Make the Bretton-Woods, notably the World Bank and IMF, represent a wider range of interests;

(2) Strengthen and empower the General Assembly to make its resolutions binding and not ignored by any member states;

(3) Reconsider the size and format of the Security Council in order to improve efficiency in peacekeeping and to better reflect current geopolitical realities.

Consistent with his efforts to democratize the United Nations, President D´Escoto recently invited, through NGLS, civil society organizations to contribute their views and proposals to the deliberations of the commission set up for reforming the international monetary and financial system so that it better serves the interest of the international community. This is a rare momentum in GA practices, a progressive initiative to transform the General Assembly into a forum of discussion in order to create the best possible solution.

The benefits of UN reform are yet to be seen. The endeavor of rearranging and optimizing the power sharing in the system should improve the efficiency of the organization and make it more responsive e.g. in cases such as Gaza, when imbalances in decision-making power hindered effective peace mediation.

For further information go to:
http://reformtheun.org/index.php
www.un.org/democracyfund/index.htm
www.centerforunreform.org/front_page
www.millennium-project.org/millennium/SOF2008-English.pdf

(source: UN Connections – the World Federation of United Nations Associations newsletter, Issue No. 91)

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