A Second United Nations Charter: Modernizing the UN for a New Generation
by A team of experts convened by the Global Governance Forum
September 19, 2024
by A team of experts convened by the Global Governance Forum
September 19, 2024
The 1945 United Nations Charter was the innovation of its time. Its predecessor, the League of Nations, had collapsed under the strain of conflict in Europe in less than 20 years. But the new post-war Charter remarkably enshrined certain ideas, values and principles that would feed the growth of international co-operation for the next 80 years.
And it was successful. Despite recurring crises and the ever-present threat that local and regional conflicts will expand globally, the UN has thus far succeeded at its original purpose of saving “succeeding generations from the scourge of (a third world) war.” The Charter also enshrined the principle of the self-determination of peoples, and the UN quickly oversaw an enormous global decolonization process, starting with the 74 non-self-governing territories identified by the 1946 General Assembly. Membership almost tripled over the next 30 years and for the first time, the great majority of the world’s peoples were both independent and represented in one forum. The UN Charter set a new normative standard in Human Rights, explicitly calling for “universal respect for, and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.” As the organization gained legitimacy, it became the world body for the management of global problems.
But it also struggled. Hand in hand with its successes, the Organization suffered several failures and fundamental challenges. Its peace and security work were riddled with double standards, selectivity, hypocrisy, and the whims of geopolitics. It took far too long to operationalize its own normative human rights standards meaningfully and at scale. Poverty reduction and development lagged, even as it failed to address climate change before it became a global emergency. And the Organization struggled to adapt and change despite bursts of innovation.
So, why change it? Because we must. After almost eighty years, the original Charter is no longer fit for purpose. The world of today is very different from that of 1945. Global inequality is widening and the balance of power is constantly shifting. New risks to the common well-being have emerged. Other older problems persist, seemingly now unresolvable despite decades of effort. The world faces multiple crises and existential threats beyond those for which the Organization was conceived. While there are divergent views on the precise way forward, there is absolute clarity that business as usual will no longer suffice.
Many will disagree with some of the proposals made here, which is welcome. Others may dismiss the effort as utopian, too radical, or not radical enough. That also is healthy.
And why now? The Second Charter draft presented here responds to a multi-year reflection process that began in 2020 on the 75th anniversary of the UN and is offered as governments gather for the 2024 Summit of the Future, one year before the UN’s 80th anniversary. It takes up the challenge and themes of Our Common Agenda (2021) and New Agenda for Peace (2023) reports, but it also builds on a rich tradition of thought about UN reform going back to the first decade of the organization and through notable more recent contributions, like the Agenda for Peace (1992) and In Larger Freedom (2005). Finally, it is informed by a wide range of serious and thoughtful reports, such as A Breakthrough for People and Planet (2024) and many others, some of whose proposals are echoed or adapted here.
A thought contribution at a critical time. This draft Second Charter is the work of a group of scholars, experts, lawyers, practitioners, and former government officials, ambassadors, and staff members with deep knowledge of the UN. It also benefited greatly from the comments and views of several former heads of government, ministers, and Under Secretaries-General, who gave generously of their time and experience. But this document is not the fruit of inter-governmental negotiations, and the drafters acknowledge that they are not fully representative of the world’s population.
An invitation to dialogue. What the draft Second Charter does offer is an invitation to a much-needed conversation with all of the stakeholders in the global community, including civil society, especially youth, and within and between governments and parliaments. Many will disagree with some of the proposals made here, which is welcome. Others may dismiss the effort as utopian, too radical, or not radical enough. That also is healthy.
A path to action. The Second Charter is not meant to be definitive, but rather it is a work in progress. It reflects a constant tension between long-term goals and ideals on the one hand and immediate constraints and realities on the other. It asks a recurring pivotal question over and over: what is needed to move forward now? Substantively, it is more evolution than revolution, though the boundaries between the two are probed in places, as this dire and increasingly fragmented global moment surely requires.
Hope. The Second Charter offers hope through sober, careful, tempered, and timely proposals for the next stage of the management of urgent global problems. Others will surely find ways to improve and build on these quickly. Above all, what the exercise confirms is that the existing UN Charter can be improved to such a degree, drawing on decades of experience, as to amount to a full Second Charter. That in itself is surely an important insight given that, perhaps sooner than anticipated, action may become a pragmatic necessity.
The Second Charter broadly encapsulates three kinds of changes: some much-needed ‘legacy language’ updates and deletions, several normative advances, and a set of major structural changes. Each of the existing chapters has been updated and modified, but some of the most significant features include:
Legacy Updates. The Second Charter effectively deletes three obsolete chapters on the Trusteeship system and cleans up 1945 ‘legacy language’ such as references to ‘enemy states.’
Normative Advances. The draft incorporates the ‘missing pillar’ of environmental and planetary health into the Charter for the first time. It elevates the level of protection and advancement of human rights and raises the previous standard on the participation of women in all aspects of the work of the Organization. The Second Charter also fosters enhanced ownership and more direct participation in the United Nations.
A Set of Major Structural Changes
Any changes will certainly entail costs. However, the costs of effectively governing global challenges will be orders of magnitude less than the cost of the consequences of failing to do so. Given not only the difficult economic times, but also the urgent needs of SDGs and climate finance, it is clear that a new approach and mechanism are required with respect to funding the work of the UN system. Having identified what is needed, the international community can then work out how to pay for it. Here again, some initial creative proposals are outlined.
The Second Charter as currently drafted is a work in progress. We look forward to the improvements that will come through further consultation, especially benefitting from the wisdom of diverse constituencies around the world. In the meantime, we submit the present iteration for consideration by all interested parties.
2020 Global Governance Forum Inc. All Rights Reserved