Under fire, the UN looks to retool

The UN General Assembly begins debate this week on a reform package that its author, Secretary-General Kofi Annan, says aims to restore UN credibility and relevance, and underscore the link among human rights, development, and security.

Mr. Annan's 62-page reform report, called "In Larger Freedom," contains scores of recommendations for the post-9/11 world, though four proposals dominate. Three of them have endured years of contentious, inconclusive debate - expanding the UN Security Council, defining terrorism, and increasing foreign aid. The fourth is the lone fresh proposal - scrapping the UN Commission on Human Rights for a new Human Rights Council.

Despite Annan's fall deadline, any change to the 60-year-old body faces an uphill battle. National self-interest and age-old arguments may again derail reform. And critics say changes to the UN need to go beyond process and procedure.

"I think a lot of this talk about UN reform conceals the absolutely basic problem of how can the UN make serious decisions about really serious crises," says Brian Urquhart, a former UN under secretary-general for special political affairs, referring to failures in places like Bosnia and Rwanda a decade ago, Darfur and Congo today. "It's a political hot bun, and nobody will touch it. They know perfectly well that if they bring it up, it will create far more darkness than light."

There are perhaps no greater UN critics than at the White House. President Bush has nominated John Bolton - who once said, "If the UN secretary building in New York lost 10 stories, it wouldn't make a bit of difference" - to be its UN ambassador. But in any reform proposal, the role of the US - the UN's largest donor, its most influential member, and the world's lone superpower - will be key, experts say.

"Nothing in the international system changes unless Washington is happy with it," says James Paul, executive director of the UN watchdog Global Policy Forum. "In a wide-ranging report like this, everyone looks over their shoulder to see what the reaction in Washington is."

Each of the four main proposals has backers and critics, and finding common ground will be the challenge for the General Assembly this fall:

• Expand the Security Council. The 15-member council is empowered to sanction war, dispatch peacekeepers, and impose sanctions. But it is accused of reflecting the geopolitics of 1945. The permanent five members (P-5) - the US, Britain, France, Russia, and China - each wield a veto over any Council action. There are 10 rotating, two-year seats that do not have veto power.

Most countries, especially those in the southern hemisphere, want council expansion. Annan has proposed two options, both adding up to 24 members. One would add six new permanent seats, while the other would expand and lengthen the rotating seats.

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