Course on UN Reform

Course organized in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland

Dates:

Day 1 (Friday 14 October 2011): Institutional Adaptation of United Nations Governing Bodies (Security Council, General Assembly, Human Rights Council)

Day 2 (Friday 4 November 2011):  System-Wide Coherence

Day 3 (Thursday 10 November 2011):  Management Reform

Day 4 (Friday 11 November 2011):  New Approaches to Mediation and Preventive Diplomacy

Venue: United Nations Headquarters

Coordinator: Helene Gandois

To register, please visit the online catalogue.

Objective:

While the principles of the United Nations Charter remain as relevant today as in 1945, the challenges and demands facing the Organization have evolved considerably over the years. Member States' demands of the United Nations and its Secretariat, agencies, funds and programmes have grown continuously.  In many areas, the existing structures, systems and resources of the United Nations are strained, not least due to the high volume of operational activity it has taken on around the world.

Member States have recognized the need for transforming and adapting the United Nations system to today’s realities, and have defined priorities for reform in the 2000 Millennium Declaration and the 2005 World Summit Outcome Document. Supported by a number of reports, commissioned and issued by the Secretary-General, these documents set out objectives for innovation in the areas of development; peace and security; human rights and governance; and the strengthening of the United Nations system. In his acceptance speech in October 2006, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon asserted: “In order to meet [the] growing mandates and expectations, we have engaged in the most sweeping reform effort in the history of the Organization... we must stay the course.  We need to muster the human, institutional and intellectual resources and to organize them properly”.

Organization:

The Course Series on United Nations Reform, jointly organized with the Permanent Mission of Switzerland to the United Nations, is intended to provide delegates, particularly those who have newly arrived in New York, with a comprehensive and impartial knowledge base on the main chapters of ongoing United Nations reform efforts to enable them to engage constructively in relevant consultations.

Participants:

The course is designed for members of permanent missions to the United Nations, who wish to receive a comprehensive overview on United Nations reform efforts.

Information note

Related Documents

"Multilateralism, the United Nations and Global Governance" by Amb. Eduardo Gálvez, Deputy Permanent Representative of Chile to the United Nations

Overview of preparations for 2012 Quadrennial Comprehensive Policy Review of the General Assembly

Analysis of the funding of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for 2009. Report of the Secretary-General.

System-Wide Coherence in UN development activities

Impact of funding on System-Wide Coherence of UN operational activities for development

ICT Strategy for the Secretariat

UN reform and Umoja

Effectiveness and Evaluation

Preventive diplomacy and the Peacebuilding Commission. The Example of the Guinea country-specific configuration

Counter-Terrorism as a tool of Preventive Diplomacy: The United Nations Centre for Counter-Terrorism

Courses Materials from 2009 and 2010 Series