{"id":3564,"date":"2026-08-11T22:12:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/need-for-un-reforms\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T23:02:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:32:04","slug":"need-for-un-reforms","status":"publish","type":"psir_note","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/need-for-un-reforms\/","title":{"rendered":"Need for UN reforms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PSIR Notes<\/a>\u203a<\/span>II-A Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics<\/a>\u203a<\/span>Need for UN reforms<\/span><\/div>\n
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Paper I \u00b7 Comparative Political Analysis and International Politics<\/div>\n

Need for UN reforms<\/h1>\n
Syllabus \u00b7 Paper II-A \u00b7 9<\/b> \u2014 United Nations : Envisaged role and actual record; Specialized UN agencies\u2014aims and functioning; need for UN reforms<\/span>.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Need for Reform<\/h3>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Head<\/th>\nThe evidence<\/th>\nScholar<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Institutional<\/span><\/td>\nStructural weakness, above all in the Security Council. The P5 veto is used to create logjams \u2014 Russia\u2019s veto over Ukraine<\/td>\nRichard Falk<\/span> \u2014 the dominance of Western liberal democracies within the UN framework perpetuates historic power imbalances<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Peace and security<\/span><\/td>\nCouncil paralysis through the decade-long Syrian Civil War, as competing US and Russian interests blocked resolutions; failure to prevent the Rohingya crisis once the warning signs were clear<\/td>\nMichael Barnett<\/span> (Empire of Humanity<\/em>) \u2014 the UN has worked reactively rather than building preventive capacity, prolonging suffering<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Climate and global governance<\/span><\/td>\nUNFCCC and conferences such as COP28 gather all nations, but outcomes fall short; Paris commitments remain partly unfulfilled as major emitters (China, the US, the EU) resist proportionate burden-sharing<\/td>\nJeffrey Sachs<\/span> \u2014 reliance on voluntary pledges rather than binding commitments limits the UN\u2019s capacity to handle existential crises<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Development and inequality<\/span><\/td>\nThe MDGs cut extreme poverty, but the SDGs struggle with low finance and global economic shocks; COVID-19 deepened inequalities as the UN could not ensure equitable vaccine distribution<\/td>\n\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Representation and legitimacy<\/span><\/td>\nThe P5 still reflects post-1945 geopolitics. India, Brazil and South Africa, with growing global weight, remain outside permanent membership; India\u2019s consistent peacekeeping record and climate leadership through the International Solar Alliance mark it as a deserving candidate<\/td>\nAnne-Marie Slaughter<\/span> and Thomas G. Weiss<\/span> \u2014 the UN must reflect current power realities. Edward Luck<\/span> (UN Security Council: Practice and Promise<\/em>) \u2014 credibility depends on adapting membership to geopolitical and demographic shifts<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reform and resistance<\/span><\/td>\nThe 2005 World Summit Outcome Document<\/span> called for a more representative Council, but members found no unanimity; the main obstacle is the P5\u2019s unwillingness to dilute the veto. The UN also stays dependent on major contributors \u2014 the US paid 22%<\/span> of the regular budget in 2022<\/td>\nThomas Weiss<\/span> \u2014 meaningful reform cannot occur amid such entrenched interests without changing the equation on equitable burden-sharing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Technology and new threats<\/span><\/td>\nCyber threats and artificial intelligence outpace current frameworks; there is no comprehensive UN treaty on cyber governance, and COVID-19 exposed the WHO\u2019s inability to mobilise timely global responses<\/td>\nIan Goldin<\/span> \u2014 the UN must be proactive and innovative, working through strengthened multilateral cooperation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Restructuring \u2014 Scholarly Positions<\/h3>\n

A global debate on restructuring has run since the Security Council\u2019s Heads of Government met on 31 January 1992<\/span>. The aim: a UN \u2014 and above all a Council \u2014 that is more democratic, effective and responsive to a changing world, since its tasks now reach almost every field of human activity.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Scholar<\/th>\nPosition<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Miguel Ruiz-Caba\u00f1as Izquierdo<\/span><\/td>\nThree efforts matter as the UN looks to its next 75 years: a worldwide antiviral consortium, safeguarding biodiversity, and stronger early-warning systems inside UN institutions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Harsh V. Pant<\/span><\/td>\nMaintaining the status quo is no longer an option; if reform fails, India may look for solutions elsewhere, reshaping New Delhi\u2019s relationship with the UN \u2014 and India would not be alone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tiejun Yu<\/span><\/td>\nGreat-power rivalry still shapes world politics and the order remains one of nation states, so structural and functional reform will be a long process filled with grievances; even so, it gives states a public forum whose legitimacy no other body can replace<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John Ikenberry<\/span><\/td>\nSupports a more inclusive structure that accommodates new powers and regional organisations such as the African Union and ASEAN, in keeping with a multipolar world<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Samantha Power<\/span><\/td>\nThe UN should adopt a more assertive posture on humanitarian and human-rights concerns, and put such policies into practice<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Shashi Tharoor<\/span> and Kofi Annan<\/span><\/td>\nStress the necessity of UNSC reform; the African Union\u2019s demand for representation and the G4 proposals for permanent membership show how urgent it has become<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Joel Ng<\/span><\/td>\nLegitimacy must be restored in fact and in perception, through two elements \u2014 effectiveness and representation. The UN should become more representative across its whole structure, not only the Council; people and ideas from the East and South remain under-represented, and agencies must deliver public goods and earn credit for it<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Proposed Models for Council Reform<\/h3>\n
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Model<\/th>\nWho<\/th>\nThe demand<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Ezulwini Consensus<\/span> \u2014 African Union, 2005<\/td>\nAfrica\u2019s only unified plan<\/td>\nStrong continental representation for Africa<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
G4<\/span><\/td>\nBrazil, Germany, India, Japan<\/td>\nBacking one another\u2019s bids since the late 1990s; expand the categories of membership and reform working methods. Brazil and India are also in L69. The G4 has twice reopened the reform debate in the past decade<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
L69<\/span><\/td>\nForty-two developing countries from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific \u2014 eleven African Union states, eleven CARICOM nations and two CARICOM observers<\/td>\n\u201cUnited by a common cause \u2014 to achieve, lasting and comprehensive reform of the UN Security Council.\u201d Backs a non-permanent seat for small island developing states in every region<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
CARICOM<\/span><\/td>\nThe Caribbean grouping, increasingly active<\/td>\nA 2013 communiqu\u00e9 called for a non-permanent seat for Small Island Developing States in all regions and backed the African position. Its draft resolution proposes six new permanent seats \u2014 two for Africa (decided by Africa), two for Asia, one for Latin America and the Caribbean, one for Western Europe and other states \u2014 elected by the General Assembly<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Uniting for Consensus<\/span> (UfC)<\/td>\nArgentina, Canada, Italy, Malta, Mexico, Pakistan, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and others<\/td>\nGrew from a \u201ccoffee club\u201d of Italy, Spain, Mexico and Pakistan alarmed at the G4\u2019s momentum, believing neither the G4 nor their own regions would represent their national views<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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\u201cAfrica is of the view that so long as it exists, and as a matter of common justice, it should be made available to all permanent members of the Security Council, even though it is opposed in principle to the veto.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ezulwini Consensus, 2005<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reforms Undertaken So Far \u00b7 Guterres\u2019s Three Pillars<\/h3>\n