UN-75: General Assembly and Secretariat Reform (3)

UN-75: General Assembly and Secretariat Reform (3) Vladimir I. Rogozhin [email protected] The goal of the reform of the UN General Assembly, the main representative, deliberative and decision-making body of the UN, is to increase the level of global legitimacy as a result of its deep democratization and openness, to create a reliable system of global governance in the face of constantly increasing existential threats and risks to Humanity. Without a deep reform of the General Assembly, it is not possible to build a Sustainable LifeWorld System - "UNO-Centric Multipolar Multilaterality" - an existentially necessary and sufficient global structure for the safe development and gradual movement of us, Earthlings, towards a life-affirming all-planetary unity - United Humanity. The reform of the UN General Assembly should proceed gradually, step by step. Today, we cannot accept the idea of creating another body - the "Parliamentary Assembly of the United Nations", and even more so with the idea of a "World Parliament". These are ideas, "whose time has not yet come."(1) Humanity is just mastering modern methods of democratic governance, with great difficulty it begins to move from the level of "Democracy 2.0" (the "youth" of industrial-era democracy) to "Democracy 3.0" - democracy of the nuclear-ecological - information age with hard feedback in the "Open Authority - Open Society" system at all levels of governance, including at the international: "Open United Nations - Open Global Civil Society". Today there is neither the first nor the second. Closed, non-transparent methods continue to prevail at all levels of global governance. This is extremely dangerous for international peace and the stable development of all Humanity. We can agree that "it makes little practical or political sense to set up a separate parliamentary assembly alongside the existing governmental General Assembly."(2) Moreover, the promotion of this idea introduces an existential split in the UN and contradicts the highest democratic principles of international relations. The sad example of Brexit suggests that international democratic governance must be very deeply thought out based on the principle of “Unity in Diversity”, and not on the basis the blind subordination of the minority to the majority. First of all, we, Earthlings, must create step by step not just a Global Civil Society, but an Open Global Civil Society. Such a Society has not yet been created on Earth. Today, only the first steps are being taken in this direction. How many "citizens of the world" today support the activities of the UN with their financial contributions? Can the Friends of the United Nations Movement be considered satisfactory? Can all non-governmental organizations accredited by the UN be considered open to the world community? The UN itself also cannot yet be considered an organization that is OPEN to world civil society. The parliaments of all UN member states should be directly involved in the work of the main representative, advisory and decision-making body of the UN, and not act in parallel. This can be done by transforming the General Assembly into the General All-Parliamentary Assembly of the United Nations. The formation of the composition of representatives in the General AllParliamentary Assembly from each UN member state should be carried out on the basis of joint decisions of the parliament and the government of the country in an amount of up to five representatives from the UN member state: three representatives from the parliament, two from the government or one from the government, two from parliament. Regardless of the number of representatives, a UN member country has one vote. If the UN member states do not learn to reach a consensus between their parliamentarians and diplomats from the government, then what kind of unity and democracy can we talk about at the all-human level in solving problems in the face of increasing existential threats and risks? The inclusion of parliamentarians and their quantitative majority provides an additional system of "checks and balances" both in decision-making by the General All-Parliamentary Assembly and in the UN system as a whole. A time-tested principle that lies at the foundation of international relations on issues of any complexity is the result of negotiations and compromise between member states and must remain fundamental in the activities of the UN. Parliamentarians of UN member states can increase the effectiveness and global significance of General Assembly resolutions even now without such dubious transformations in the global governance system as the creation of the “Parliamentary Assembly of the United Nations”. For example, many UN member states did not support UN Resolution 69/160, which is very important for the whole world.(3) Parliamentarians of the UN member states who did not support this resolution could adopt it at the national parliamentary level or, together with global and national NGOs accredited by the UN, could express their attitude to the Resolution in an Open Letter and thus provide pressure on the government of their country to have Resolution 69/160 adopted or to publish the reason for refusing to approve it. Also, all other UN resolutions significant for Humanity should be open for personal signature not only by members of national parliaments, but also by all Earthlings who support the goals of the UN, including through regular contributions to the World Goodwill Fund.(4) Information technology allows you to do this. For this, it is necessary to significantly improve the UN Internet portal, intensify and expand the activities of the UN media, and increase their level of independence. That is, to start moving towards the transformation of the UN into an "Open UN" right now. In connection with the transformation of the General Assembly into the General AllParliamentary Assembly, the necessary reorganization of the main governing bodies is being carried out. The Committee on Social, Humanitarian & Cultural Issues is transformed into the Committee on Social and Humanitarian Issues, Culture and Sports. The Parliamentary Council of the General All-Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee for Interaction with Parliaments and Parliamentary Unions are being created. The necessary reorganization and clarification of the functions of all bodies of the transformed General All-Parliamentary Assembly is being carried out: committees, commissions, boards, councils, working groups. The numbering of the committees (First, Second, Third, etc.) is excluded, and only full names are used. In order to solve urgent problems in the field of international law and coordinate the activities of all UN divisions on international law and international courts created by the UN, the General AllParliamentary Assembly creates the Council on International Law, which coordinates the activities of existing UN structures in the field of international law. In the structure of the Council, a High Level Group of Consultants ("Council of the Wise Men") is created from the most prominent experts in the field of international law. To solve existing global problems in the system Human - Authorities - Society - Nature, the General All-Parliamentary Assembly creates a Council on Ethics, Rights and Responsibility of Human, Civil Society, and Authority. Within the structure of the Council, the Commission on Ethics, the Commission on the Rights of the Child, the Commission on Human Rights, the Commission on the Rights of Civil Society, the Commission on the Rights of Ethnic Minorities / Small Indigenous Peoples, and the Commission on the Action and Responsibility of Authorities are created. The Council coordinates all the activities of the commissions, improves and manages the mechanism for reviewing information on human and child rights, civil society, ethnic minorities, the activities of the authorities in all UN member states. In the structure of the Council, a Group of high-level consultants ("Council of the Wise Men") is created in all areas of its activities. In order to deepen democratic governance, strengthen public oversight by the Global Civil Society, independence of the media of the UN system, the UN General All - Parliamentary Assembly creates a Council for Public Information and Relations with Civil Society and a Committee for Information and Relations with Civil Society. The structure of the Committee includes all UN media: UN Public Television, UN Radio, UN Magazine, UN Internet portal and other media. The Council coordinates the work of all UN information and public relations departments. The network of UN Information Centers should be significantly expanded. UN Information Centers should be at least one in each country and their work will be activated in accordance with the UN Information Strategy developed for the new conditions. In order to activate the entire work of the UN system, the systematic creation of a global unified information and intellectual space to support the activities of the UN, its statutory goals and program objectives, establish clear feedback between UN structures and Global Civil Society, as well as "horizontal" links between all non-governmental organizations and citizens, the Committee on information and communication with civil society creates an Open intellectual social Internet network of the UN based on new philosophical, economic, social and organizational principles. The General All-Parliamentary Assembly adopts the UN Code of Ethics. The Code introduces provisions prohibiting representatives of the UN member states from mutual public accusations and bellicose rhetoric, as well as recommendations to submit to the UN bodies only constructive proposals for solving problems aimed at effective work and achieving consensus. Rules of Procedure of the Assembly should provide for the organization of an annual United Nations Earth Summit ("Great Earth Summit") with the participation of heads of state and parliaments from all UN member states, at whose meetings (general, heads of state, heads of parliaments) the main problematic issues are discussed and resolved international community. Reform of the UN Secretariat Fundamental transformations of the General Assembly and the Security Council, general processes of democratization in the world, the need for the most effective work of the UN as the central coordinating body of the global governance system in the face of growing existential threats and risks require an increase in the level of legitimacy and authority of the chief administrative officer of the United Nations - the Secretary- General.(5) Taking into account the super task facing Humanity - the creation of a Sustainable LifeWorld Order, the UN-Centered Multipolar Multilaterality, the "Open United Nations", there are also questions of maximum democracy and openness in the selection of candidates, the title of the position, the main functions of the chief administrative officer of the UN. Currently, the Secretary-General is appointed by the UN General Assembly on the recommendation of the Security Council. As the recommendation must come from the Security Council, any of the five permanent members of the Council can veto a nomination. Most secretaries-general are compromise candidates from middle powers and have little prior fame. Unofficial qualifications for the job have been set by precedent in previous selections. The appointee may not be a citizen of any of the Security Council's five permanent members. The General Assembly resolution 51/241 in 1997 stated that, in the appointment of "the best candidate", due regard should be given to regional (continental) rotation of the appointee's national origin and to gender equality, (6) On the UN official website, we read: «One of the most vital roles played by the Secretary-General is the use of his "good offices" -- steps taken publicly and in private, drawing upon his independence, impartiality and integrity, to prevent international disputes from arising, escalating or spreading...» « and worldwide travel intended to keep him in touch with the peoples of the Organization's Member States and informed about the vast array of issues of international concern that are on the Organization's agenda.» (5) The entire 75-year history of the UN says that the main function of the Secretary- General is not “good offices” to prevent the emergence, escalation or expansion of the scale of international disputes, but his main job responsibility. Consequently, observers have variably described the office as the "world's most visible bully pulpit" or as the "world's moderator". Examples include Dag Hammarskjöld's promotion of an armistice between the warring parties of Arab-Israel conflict, Javier Perez de Cuellar's negotiation of a ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq War, and U Thant's role in de-esalating the Cuban Missile Crisis.(6) Thus, an analysis of the activities of all UN Secretaries General and the ongoing many years of unresolved conflicts today make it possible to conclude: the most important function of the UN Chief Executive Officer is the role of the World Coordinator both in resolving problems between countries and in organizing all UN activities. Therefore, it is necessary to change the title of the position: instead of "United Nations Secretary-General" it should be called "United Nations Coordinator-General". By the way, "secretarius" in Latin means "participant in secret meetings". If we want the UN to become an Open Organization to all Earthlings, then there should be nothing secret in the activities of the chief UN official. The history of elections for the post of chief administrative officer of the United Nations shows that the backstage (hidden) approach to the selection of candidates reduces the level of legitimacy not only of the office, but of the entire United Nations and does not correspond to the modern principles of the highest democracy in international relations, does not meet the requirements of the era of increasing existential threats and risks. The UN Coordinator-General should not be dependent in his actions on the five permanent member states of the UN, but only on the Security Council as a whole and the General All-Parliamentary Assembly. The UN reform must include new Rules of procedure for the selection and approval of candidates for chief administrative office of the United Nations. Time also requires a strong, well-coordinated team to help the Coordinator-General. The Coordinator- General must also have five elected First Deputies Regions: Asia-Pacific, Africa, Europe, Middle East, South and North America. Each UN member state nominates one candidate for election as the Coordinator-General or First Deputy. Citizens of a country that: a) has nuclear weapons, b) is a member of a military bloc, C) has foreign bases on its territory or has bases in another state, d) has armed conflicts on its territory or has territorial claims to other countries cannot apply for these elected positions. The Procedure for the election of the Coordinator-General and First Deputies should include several stages. The biography of each candidate, the declaration of income, property and financial assets and a 20minute online presentation of the program are published on the UN portal. Two months before the approval of the Coordinator-General and First Deputies at a meeting of the General AllParliamentary Assembly, all candidates are pre-rated in the online UN system "UN Global Trust Rating" in stages by level:: 1 - Members of the Existential Security Council (Basic Determining Rating); 2 - International Governmental (diplomatic); 3 - International Parliamentary; 4 - UN system; 5 - UN high-level consultants; 6 - The United Nations Messengers of Peace; 7 - Global expert community; 8 - International Journalistic; 9 - Open Global Civil Society. The ranking results at each stage are immediately published in the UN media. The UN media should fully cover the stages of candidate nomination and elections, biographies of candidates and their programs should be fully presented on the UN portal in all official UN languages. The Election Commission summarizes the rating and, based on the Overall (total) Global Trust Rating, selects six candidates with the highest rating. In case of equality of the Overall (total) ratings, the candidate is approved on the basis of the new rating of the Existential Security Council. The six candidates with the highest Trust Ratings then select the General Coordinator themselves by secret ballot. The result of all stages of elections is approved by the Election Commission, and then by the General All-Parliamentary Assembly. Taking into account the dynamics of the modern era and in order to improve the efficiency of the UN chief administrative officer, the term of office should be set at four years instead of five at present. The number of terms should not be limited, and the ability to be nominated for a new term is determined only on the basis of the General Global Trust Rating. The UN Charter should clearly state all the powers and functions of the chief administrative officer of the UN and his first deputies. For the effective implementation of official duties, each First Deputy General Coordinator must have several Permanent Offices in the Region of his responsibility: Africa - Addis Ababa, Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos, Pretoria. Asia-Pacific Region - Beijing, Bishkek, Delhi, Islamabad, Jakarta. Europe — Baku, Brussels, Chisinau, Kiev, Moscow, Yerevan. Near and Middle East — Ankara, Damascus, Jerusalem, Riyadh, Tehran,. South and North America — Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Caracas, Lima, Mexico City. The First Deputy Coordinator-General is the highest official for all UN entities operating in the Region. If we analyze the history of many “frozen” conflicts, we can conclude that for their fair resolution, the Coordinator-General must be actively involved in the peacekeeping process together with one of his First Regional Deputies in accordance with their official duties. Not a single UN member state, on whose territory such armed conflicts exist, should impede the implementation of the main function of the Coordinator-General / First Deputy Coordinator - General, but is obliged to fully contribute to the establishment of a just and sustainable peace between the conflicting parties. The General All-Parliamentary Assembly will transform the UN Chief Executives Board for Coordination into the UN Supreme Coordination Council, which is chaired on a permanent basis by the Coordinator- General. The meetings are held monthly (online mode) and once a year offline. At the present stage of reform, the Secretary General is leading the entire process of reforming the UN, primarily the Secretariat, its effective interaction with other UN bodies and organizations, the Global Civil Society, the governments and parliaments of the UN member states. Sources (1) United Nations Parliamentary Assembly / Wikipedia / Laurenti Jeffrey UN Reform: Is a World Parliamentary Assembly needed? An Idea Whose Time Has Not Come https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Parliamentary_Assembly (2) United Nations Parliamentary Assembly / Wikipedia / Johnsson, Anders B. (March 2005) World Conference of Speakers of Parliaments, UN Chronicle. Retrieved 7 December 2007 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Parliamentary_Assembly (3)UN Resolution 69/160 https://undocs.org/en/A/RES/69/160 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UN_Resolution_69160_Vote.svg?fbclid=IwAR1HAQ7bfJ8D4p7JEGsst0GXR-Lr80q2qfuaM9mrYmkn8Nfifp6LPtSJPc (4) Vladimir I. Rigozhin UN75 ↔ Philosophical Basics of UN Reform ↔ Security Council Reform ↔ UN Funding System (2) https://independent.academia.edu/VladimirRogozhin (5) Official site of the UN / Role of the Secretary General https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/role-secretary-general (6) Secretary-General of the United Nations / Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secretary-General_of_the_United_Nations#Powers_and_duties