An Agenda for Reform of the United Nations The United Nations was created over fifty years ago, in the aftermath of World War II. Although it has served humanity well over the last five decades, there is now a growing appreciation of the need to reform the UN system. Humanity must not only take stock of the UN's failures and successes, but also set about the task of restructuring the political and legal institutions which must provide the necessary foundation for global governance in the 21st century. The United Nations must evolve from an inter-governmental forum which exists primarily to enable negotiation and bargaining among sovereign nation-states. It must become a more autonomous, more democratic and more representative political body. Reforming the United Nations exerts a civilizing influence on international relations, by progressively strengthening the rule of law. The rule of law secures liberty and justice against repression; it empowers the weak against the unjust claims of the strong; it enables coordinated action to address common global problems. Ten Steps Toward a Reformed United Nations System World federalists support the work of the United Nations. But we also recognize the UN's weaknesses, and therefore seek to strengthen it. Summarized below are ten practical proposals for United Nations reform. Each would substantially improve the UN's capacity to fulfil the goals and aspirations which inspired the creation of the United Nations, 50 years ago. (1) Create a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly As the need for global coordination and co-operation becomes ever more apparent, governments will find themselves turning to the UN more and more. Over time, the UN will have to grow in authority and also be democratized. Specifically, the UN must include more direct representation from citizens. The single most appropriate and important institution for enabling citizens to be represented at the UN, as in any governing body, is a parliament. The European Parliament, one of the key institutions of the European Union provides an important example of how a supranational parliament can be organized. More recently, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has also created a consultative Parliamentary Assembly. A Parliamentary Assembly would bring into being a very different kind of voice in global politics. Whereas the General Assembly is composed of representatives of governments who ultimately represent institutional interests within the nation-state system, a parliamentary assembly would be made up of individuals who would speak for citizens. Composed initially of members elected by national parliaments, the UNPA would not be a true parliament, but the precursor to a parliament. It would be created as a subsidiary body, under Article 22 of the UN Charter. It would not have legislative powers. But even in its initial stages, with a largely symbolic and consultative role, a Parliamentary Assembly could do a great deal of good. It would be a vital new link to national parliaments and would increase support among the world's nations for all aspects of United Nations activities. It would be a new source of proposals and a new source of initiative within the international system for the solution of global problems. It would be a new channel through which citizens and non-governmental organizations could feed in their ideas. It would also become an essential source of guidance to, and leverage on, national governments for strengthening the UN. As well, it would reinforce the trend toward democratic governance in nations around the world. Most importantly, a UN Parliamentary Assembly would become a symbol with which to change the outmoded ideological mindsets of the nation-state world we live in. In place of today's state-centric ideology, which makes a virtue of national selfishness and exclusivity, a parliament would advance the idea of the world as a democratic community of citizens who share common vital interests and values. In Canada, proposals for a UNPA have been endorsed by the last two reports of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. However, working to create a UNPA has not yet become a matter of Canadian Government policy. (2) Restore the UN's Role at the Center of Global Economic Governance The redressing of poverty and promotion of trade and development were among the main objectives set for the UN when it was created in 1945. Today the "economic and social advancement of all peoples" is at an impasse. The inequities between North and South represent an increasing threat to peace and security. There are a number of reasons why the UN has been unable to solve problems it was originally designed to solve. There exists a scattering of effort at the global, regional and country levels which sometime s leads to inefficiencies. The array of separate development funds and programmes lacks logic and coherence. And, most significantly, there is deep disjuncture between the UN and the Bretton Woods institutions. As a result, there is no single representative body mandated to develop coherent macro-economic strategy and policy for the world as a whole. The major industrial powers contend that macro-economic policy belongs with the Bretton Woods institutions (the International Monetary Fund and World Bank) and the new World Trade Organization, all of which they control through their economic might and the unfairly weighted decision- making structures of these institutions. However, the UN Charter provides for the UN, in the form of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), to be the centrepiece for global economic policy. If the necessary level of trust between the rich industrialized and the poor non-industrialized countries were present, issues of macro- economic policy could be addressed through ECOSOC. Governments have restricted the authority of ECOSOC. Its functions include: studying international economic and social matters; making recommendations to the General Assembly; calling international conferences and drafting international conventions; and receiving reports from UN specialized agencies and making recommendations to improve coordination among these agencies. While ECOSOC functions as a deliberative body within the UN, its work has become less relevant. Primary authority for regulating the international economy lies with the Bretton Woods institutions A well-functioning world economy depends on coordination and cooperation between countries, as evidenced by several recent currency and debt crises. The globalization of the world economy must be accompanied by globally representative regulatory authorities. And these authorities must employ mechanisms that enable large and small powers and regions to feel that their interests will be adequately protected. The world needs a central mechanism to play an instrumental role in promoting and coordinating social and economic progress worldwide. Such a body should be an integral part of the UN system, the world's only universal political body. The functions of this central economic body might include: Designing a global policy framework in all key economic and social areas including food security, ecological security, development assistance, humanitarian assistance, debt, commodity price stabilization, technology transfers, drug control, women's issues, children's issues and human development; Preparing a global budget of development resource flows for a revolving five-year period, to identify discrepancies between global development potential and resource availability, and to identify policies and programmes to meet these shortfalls; Providing a policy coordination framework for the smooth functioning of international development and financial institutions. Some analysts have proposed the creation of a new institution, an Economic Security Council (ESC) to play this central coordinating and policy-setting role. However, an Economic Security Council was discussed prior to the recent UN World Summit for Social Development. That discussion demonstrated that there was significant opposition to creating an ESC. An Economic Security Council runs the risk of replicating many of the worst features of the present Security Council: domination by the wealthy industrialized states; and a system of representation where some states (possibly possessing a veto on ESC decisions) are more equal than others.Decision-making on world economic issues should lie within the world's most important political organization: the United Nations. Creating a new institution, like an ESC, is always harder than re-invigorating one that already exists. Thus, the best option for improving global economic governance is to strengthen ECOSOC. This includes a commitment by governments to make the Bretton Woods institutions more accountable to ECOSOC. ECOSOC was central to the framework for international cooperation in economic and social issues which was agreed to in the Charter of the United Nations. As government s come to terms with the effects of a rapidly changing global economy, they should set about the task of renewing and strengthening ECOSOC. (3) Financing an Effective United Nations If the UN is to become a more effective and autonomous organization, it must resolve its chronic and persistent lack of financial resources. Although the world is making more and more demands of the United Nations, governments are failing to provide adequate resouces to meet these demands. Canada pays its bills to the UN on time and in full. But it is one of a minority of countries to do so. The rules intended to discipline countries for late payment are not enforced. It is time to look beyond the nation-state for new sources of funds, independent of national contributions. Providing the UN with independent revenue sources is analogous to a nation's system of public finance (taxes, borrowing powers, etc.). In order to fulfil its mandate, including playing a greater role in the economic and social development of poorer countries, the UN will require an independent funding base. Independent revenue sources would not only increase the pool of available resources for development; this would also enhance the autonomy of the UN system, making it less vulnerable to the shifting priorities of national governments. Of course, with these added resources and autonomy come increased responsibilities for improved UN management practices and improved mechanisms for policy coordination. On an international level, a wide range of proposals exist to provide the UN with a direct funding base. These include: taxing international trade, or some other form of taxation of the international economy; taxes on agreed socially undesirable activities, such as on marine pollution, emission of greenhouse gases or military expenditures; taxing uses of the global commons. Among the innovative ideas being proposed, one of the most promising may be a tax on foreign currency exchanges. Some one trillion U.S. dollars worth of foreign exchange transactions take place each day. Even a minuscule tax on each transaction would raise enormous sums. Such a tax would also assist governments by increasing their ability to protect national currencies from some of the worst effects of currency specualtion. Perhaps a more practical variation of the currency transfers tax is the creation of a Foreign Currency Exchange. Such a Currency Exchange would function in the same way that securities exchanges create orderly markets for the trading of stocks and bonds. Revenues for the UN and global governance would be generated through user and licensing fees. (4) Reform the UN Security Council The Security Council is the most powerful body in the United Nations system. It is the only principal organ whose decisions are legally binding on all member states. The Council is composed of fifteen members. Five of these (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States) are permanent members. The other ten are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.In order to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security, the Council is given a wide range of diplomatic and coercive powers. The Council may: determine the existence of and investigate disputes or situations which threaten the peace; call upon parties to a dispute to seek a solution by negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional arrangements or other peaceful means; employ measures not involving the use of armed force, e.g. economic sanctions; take military action "as may be necessary to maintain or restore international peace and security." A committee of the UN General Assembly is presently discussing a wide range of proposals for reform of the composition of Security Council in 1995, the UN's 50th anniversary. This would mark the first major reform in the structure of any of the UN's principal organs since 1965, when the Security Council was enlarged from 11 to 15 members. There are a number of problems with the Security Council as presently structured. The composition of the Council gives undue weight to western, developed countries and is not representative of the distribution of the world's population. The size of the Council (15 members) is now too small and does not reflect the increased membership of the UN as a whole. Also, the idea of permanent membership in the Security Council and the unanimity rule which gives permanent members effective veto over most decisions is inherently undemocratic. When the permanent members use the veto to block Council action on an issue where their national interests are at stake, they render the Council unreliable. Finally, the Security Council is not directly accountable to any other political body. It is required to report to the General Assembly, but its annual report to the GA is little more than a laundry list of its decisions, with no analysis or explanation for its actions. The International Court of Justice lacks the authority to judge the legality of Council actions and decisions. While many UN bodies and conferences have opened up their procedures to allow non-governmental organizations to present information and observe proceedings, the Security Council has remained closed to any sort of NGO participation. Regarding current discussions on reforming the UN Security Council, there is some chance that the Council may be reformed in a way which exaggerates many of its present problems. For example, some have proposed adding only Japan and Germany as new permanent members.Nevertheless, there are also some prospects for progressive reform. Some examples of measures to make the Security Council more accountable, and its decision-making more transparent, include: Defining rules of procedure which ensure that Council reports to the General Assembly are more analytical. The GA should debate Council reports and reply to the Security Council; The International Court of Justice should, when necessary, issue judgments on the legality of actions authorized by the Council (NOTE: the ICJ would not issue judgments as to what constitutes a threat to peace and security; that is still the prerogative of the Council); The UN Secretary-General should make greater use of the powers under Article 99 which allow him/her to refer issues to the Security Council. And what about the permanent members? It would be wrong in principle to legitimize further the undemocratic concept of permanant membership by adding to the number of states which have these special powers. In addition to being wrong in principle, it will probably be ineffective in practice to increase the number of countries whose agreement is required in order for the Council to take decisions. It may make the Council even less able to reach agreement than at present. Eventually, the veto must go. If it is impossible to reach agreement on eliminating the veto at this juncture in world history, then at the very least some measures should be taken to curtail the use and significance of the veto.The Council must become more representative. And its overall size should increase. The most important criteria for determining membership in a larger Security Council should be: geography (equitable representation of the world's regions) and population (equitable representation of the world's peoples). Regarding proposals to expand the number of countries with power of veto, the following guidelines should be followed: Ideally, the veto should be abolished Expand the number of permanent members with power of veto only if: (a) this enhances representativity of world population by adding Security Council members from the world's major regions and (b) limits are agreed on the use and power of veto, such as requiring 2 or 3 vetoes (instead of one as at present) as the minimum required to block a Security Council resolution. In a more regionally representative Security Council, preference should be given to establishing a system of rotating regional representatives. Rather than selecting one country, for example Nigeria from Africa, or Brazil from Latin America as the permanent member, nations from a given region would select different countries to represent them for a given term of office. This would encourage cooperation among states in a region, rather than designating one regional hegemon. (5) Improve UN Peace Operations UN peacekeeping has enjoyed a renaissance in the post-Cold War era. Since 1988 not only the number of peacekeeping operations has increased dramatically; the nature of peacekeeping has also changed. UN peace operations now include a broader range of activities, from preventive deployments to post-conflict political reconstruction. The professional skills required to carry out these multi-dimensional peace operations include soldiering, policing, disarming warring factions, ensuring respect for human rights, election monitoring, humanitarian relief and assistance in the re-building of civic political institutions. Rarely are these changes in the nature and scope of peacekeeping brought about in an orderly, well planned manner. Far too often the Security Council, reacting to crisis, mandates a new type of operation and leaves it up to an overworked Secretariat to work out the details.One of the major problems with current peacekeeping operations is the ad hoc nature of each mission. All the resources, troops and command and control arrangements for each UN mission are cobbled together after the Security Council mandates the mission. The recent crisis in Rwanda was not the first, but perhaps the most glaring example of the failure of the UN to intervene quickly, in order to prevent conflict, or at least to mitigate hostilities. An initial step toward remedying this problem would be to create a UN rapid reaction capability. These troops and other civilian personnel would be assigned in advance and would constitute a strategic reserve to be deployed by the Security Council in emergency situations. This would allow the early dispatch of UN forces, while contributions of additional personnel, funds and equipment were being recruited from donor countries. Canada and other middle powers will be supporting proposals to create a rapid reaction capability at the 1995 session of the UN General Assembly. However, a rapid reaction force will not be able to respond to all crises on a reliable and consistent basis. Eventually, the UN will need a permanent, individually recruited peace force. Only when the UN has its own permanent force will it be able to respond consistently and reliably to meet emerging crises in all parts of the world. For the UN to acquire a permanent individually recruited peace force, other complementary parts of the system would also have to evolve: e.g. making the Security Council more democratically accountable and strengthening the UN's judicial machinery for settling disputes. In the meantime, a UN rapid reaction capability is an important step in the right direction.Some additional improvements to UN peace operations could be realized if the UN had the capability to acquire more timely and better information on potential conflicts. In addition, the UN needs an early warning centre to allow the Secretariat to better analyze the information gathered. The UN's authority in command and control of peacekeeping operations also needs to be strengthened. At present there is too much interference from national governments and the Security Council. Also, there is a great deal of potential to be developed in the area of cooperation between the UN and civilian political forces, both in a preventive mode, before conflict breaks out, and after a ceasefire has been achieved, when the job of political reconstruction can proceed. (6) Strengthen the International Court of Justice Adherence to the rule of law in relations among states would benefit all nations. Where law is absent, anarchy reigns and the world is governed by might, not right. This is as true for the international comunity as it is within states. The International Court of Justice (ICJ, or World Court) is but the latest in a series of tribunals and procedural arrangements dating back to the Conventions for the Pacific Settlement of Disputes concluded at the first and second Peace Conferences at The Hague, in 1899 and 1907. When the UN was established in 1945, the Statute of the International Court of Justice was incorporated with the Charter of the United Nations. The expectations of many that the ICJ would solve most of the problems of compliance with international law have not been fulfilled. The Court is hampered because its authority is based upon the consent of states. The Court has jurisdiction only where the states that are parties to a dispute have agreed to abide by its decision. Nonetheless, the ICJ can play an important role in the peaceful and just resolution of disputes. The role of the ICJ should be strengthened. Most importantly, all states should accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the Court, without reservations. Only about one-third of the UN's 185 member states currently accept the Court's compulsory jurisdiction. Greater use could be made of the Court's ability to issue advisory opinions. At present, the Security Council, the General Assembly, and some UN organs and agencies have the power to request advisory opinions from the ICJ. The UN Secretary-General should also be allowed to refer issues to the Court for an advisory ruling. The Court should also be urged to issue advisory opinions concerning the constitutionality of activities and decisions of other parts of the UN system, including the Security Council. This would be analogous to the situation in many states where the highest courts act as a check on the legality of activities of the executive arm of government. (7) Create a Permanent International Criminal Court When war breaks out and the United Nations takes action to restore international peace and security, there are three options at its disposal: diplomacy, economic sanctions and, if these fail, the use of military force. Often UN sanctions do not have the desired effect. Increasingly the question is being asked: Why do we punish the citizens of a nation for the crimes of its leaders? Many of the worst offenses committed by governments, armies and terrorists - for instance, genocide, aggression, rape and targeting of civilians in times of war - are already illegal under international law. But these laws are often contravened with impunity, in part because the world community has rarely shown the will to go after violators.Creation of an International Criminal Court (ICC) would help change this situation by making individuals, including national leaders, accountable for violations of some of the worst offences under international law. Unlike the International Court of Justice in The Hague, which exists to hear cases between states, an International Criminal Court would try individuals for violations of the law. Ad hoc tribunals, to prosecute persons accused of committing war crimes in Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavian Territories have already been set up. The success of these tribunals may pave the way for the UN to create a permanent Criminal Court.The existence of a permanent Criminal Court would ensure a more consistent and reliable application of the growing body of international criminal law. It would also serve to deter future crimes. A draft statute for creation of a permanent International Criminal Court was considered at last year's session of the General Assembly. Since then, a Working Group of the General Assembly has made further progress removing some of the remaining areas of disagreement. Canada has supported creation of an International Criminal Court. At this fall's 50th session of the General Assembly, Canada and others will argue for creation of a diplomatic conference which would adopt a treaty creating an International Criminal Court. (8) Reform the UN Trusteeship Council The Trusteeship Council, one of the UN's six principal organs, has played an important role in the post-war process of decolonization, overseeing the transition of trust territories to political independence. It has now completed its work. Nevertheless, problems of self-determination, the struggle of peoples for political and territorial autonomy, still abound. Many cultural and ethnic groups seek status, expression and socio-economic advance as more than minorities (but not necessarily nation states). Indeed, these phenomena are at the root of many of the world's most serious wars and political disputes. Most of today's conflicts are internal, rather than inter-state.In many parts of the world, the authority of the nation-state is slowly eroding. Many state structures have been imposed from outside on societies with totally different traditions. Often they are the legacy of imperial domination, such as the frontiers (in many cases partitions) that were maintained as part of decolonization of the South, and those that have re-surfaced in the decolonization in the East. Homogenous ethnic groups, either separated by such frontiers or suppressed within them are increasingly restive. In other instances old cultural and ethnic tensions, suppressed during the Cold War, have been unleashed anew, exacerbated by difficult socio-economic conditions.It would be an appropriate extension of the Trusteeship Council's role if its mandate evolved in the post-Cold War era to become a deliberative forum to deal with such problems. It might be renamed the Council on Representation and Governance. New independent nation-states are by no means always the answer and in many cases are not feasible. But far too often there is a vacuum of innovative alternatives. The UN is not equipped at present to help member states and peoples to find their way peaceably through the necessary transitions. The challenges involve devising new, creative forms of representation and governance within states; or in other cases, the means of peaceable transition to statehood or some other form of political independence.A Council on Representation and Governance would be a forum for discussion of these types of issues and would evolve innovative and culturally sensitive options for their resolution. It should be open to participation from non-governmental organizations and should be a forum of resort for petitions. And it should be broadly representative of the cultures and regions of the world. The authority of the Council on Representation and Governance might develop to the point where it becomes the appropriate body for governing operations when the UN is called upon to assume a temporary custodial and administrative role in cases of failed states. (9) Strengthen Development and Enforcement of Human Rights Law The evolution of a body of universally accepted human rights law is one of the great achievements of the twentieth century. Humanity is developing a global civic ethos.Human rights are intended to protect the dignity and worth of the human person. But human rights law also has another purpose. History tells us that there is a close relationship between respect for human rights and the peace of nations. The catalyst that brought about the reference to human rights in the United Nations Charter, and later the adoption of the Universal Declaration, was the gross violation of these rights during and immediately preceding World War II.Two of the main purposes of the United Nations, as proclaimed in Article one of the Charter, are to maintain international peace and security and to promote respect for human rights. The UN has a record of considerable achievement in the field of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (adopted in 1948) proclaimed a broad set of human rights standards. Subsequently, three international treaties - the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, an Optional Protocol attached to this Covenant, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - were adopted by the General Assembly and opened for signature in 1966. They came into force in 1976. Together with the Universal Declaration, they form what is often called the International Bill of Human Rights. The Covenants mainly codify and expand upon the rights mentioned in the Universal Declaration, while the Optional Protocol provides a mechanism by which individuals can complain to the UN of violations of their civil and political rights.Despite the existence of the Universal Declaration, there is disagreement among UN member states between the North's concentration on civil and political, predominantly individual human rights, and the largely collective economic, social and cultural rights which the South has long claimed are neglected. Nevertheless, the body of human rights law developed this century has had widespread effects. The principles laid down in the International Bill of Human Rights have influenced numerous regional treaties and agreements, as well as the laws and constitutions of many states. Approximately 70 human rights treaties are in effect worldwide, promoting the elimination of apartheid, slavery and poverty; the rights of minorities, women, children, refugees and prisoners of war; social and cultural progress; and much more.Human rights law is also contributing to the transformation of the international legal order. International law is traditionally defined as law governing relations among states. However, with the development of an elaborate body of law which aims to protect the human rights of individual women and men, international law gradually acquires a qualitatively different character. International law is becoming "world law." Having laid down a code of established human rights, the international community is now able to focus to a greater extent on the monitoring and enforcement of these norms. In this context, two proposals worth exploring are: strengthening the role of the Human Rights Commissioner; and creation of a World Court of Human Rights. The post of High Commissioner for Human Rights was created in 1993, following the UN World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. The Commissioner coordinates human rights promotion and protection activities throughout the UN system, supervises the activities of the UN Centre for Human Rights, and provides advisory and technical services at the request of governments. The Commissioner's mandate could be strengthened by allowing him/her a proactive, preventive role, i.e. the power to initiate measures, (e.g. contacting governments, dispatching fact-finding missions) in order to prevent or at least mitigate serious violations of human rights.The proposal for a UN World Court of Human Rights is based on the precedent of the European Court of Human Rights established by members of the Council of Europe. Individual citizens can bring cases to the court, including cases against their own national government. Western European countries have agreed to accept decisions of the European Court, giving the Court, in effect, supranational powers. A similar court established at the world level would not be supported by all states. Those with democratic governments might be more favourable to the creation of such a court. Therefore, it might begin minimally, like the International Court of Justice, as a court governments would sign on to voluntarily. (10) Enhance the role of NGOs In the past decade there has been tremendous growth in the number and diversity of national and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs), organized citizens movements dedicated to advocating political and social change. In a world where global forces affect the outcome of more and more political issues, NGOs have become increasingly active in the international arena. Modern communication technologies have made activism in the international arena much easier for a growing number of organizations. United Nations conferences now regularly feature a forum for NGOs which is much larger and livelier than the formal inter-governmental sessions. This mushrooming of NGO activity is further concrete evidence of the emergence of a global body politic.NGOs provide vital assistance to the UN. At UN conferences they can serve as unofficial or alternative channels of communication and can help establish relationships that create the trust necessary to bridge political gaps. The declarations and action plans emanating from UN conferences are rarely of a legally binding nature. Persistent follow-up by NGOs, reminding governments of the commitments made, is critical to the success of the process. The information and activism they bring to UN human rights forums is absolutely vital. In the UN's efforts to maintain peace and security they often provide independent monitoring, early warning and information-gathering services that can be useful in preventive diplomacy; they are active partners in the delivery of humanitarian assistance; they are often best situated to offer mediation services. More and more, NGOs are helping to set public policy agendas. They identify and define critical and emerging issues. They provide diplomats and policy makers with advice and assistance.NGOs by definition represent a particular segment of international society. NGO representatives are selected from within their own (often narrowly focused) organization. They therefore lack the political legitimacy of diplomats, who represent governments, or members of a UN Parliamentary Assembly (as proposed above), who would have been elected by citizens and would serve as global parliamentarians after being elected by their national parliament. Nevertheless, NGOs provide a tremendous service to international society. Their formal role in UN affairs should be enhanced. Recently an international panel of experts (the Commission on Global Governance) offered two innovative proposals for expanding the political space for NGOs in the UN system. The UN General Assembly should support the convening of an annual Forum of Civil Society. This would consist of representatives of civic organizations, meeting for a two-week period just prior to the annual session of the General Assembly. Regional forums, prior to the UN Forum, would be an essential part of the process. In cases where there are direct threats to the security of people, the UN Security Council sometimes does not respond in a consistent or timely manner. In these cases, and in order to provide some direct means for civil society to get the international community to consider a threat to the security of people, a "Right of Petition" should be provided. This would allow civic organizations to petition the UN in order to draw attention to grave threats to the security of people, and where warranted, to activate the UN's preventive diplomacy and other security machinery. Many national parliaments and some UN agencies allow similar processes. As long as the rules and criteria for screening petitions were clearly delineated, this would represent a substantial evolution of global governance which is responsive to the needs of people.