Many political analysts globally are increasingly alarmed; we seem to be approaching one of the most dangerous periods since the end of World War II. As UN Secretary-General António Guterres made clear at the UN Summit of the Future: “Our collective security system is threatened by geopolitical divides, nuclear posturing, and the development of new weapons and theatres of war.” Whether we get to the next stage in humanity’s collective evolution through consultative diplomacy or after unimagined horrors of global magnitude is the preeminent question of our time.
Whichever course is chosen, multilateral institutions will need to be reformed to be fit for purpose, to address the global challenges facing us all, and to reflect the changes in the world over the past 80 years. A UN Charter Review conference to ensure that the organization remains relevant and effective in the 21st century is increasingly urgent. In this context, a group of scholars, experts, practitioners, and former senior government officials, with deep knowledge of the United Nations, have been working over the past two years on the draft of a potential Second Charter.
Some insist that revising the UN Charter is politically impossible. On the other hand, maintaining the status quo would mean deepening crises, accelerating climate catastrophe, and the insatiable acquisition of more and deadlier weapons of war that increasingly put humanity’s future at risk. Perhaps sooner than anticipated, the development of a new-and-improved UN Charter will become vital. Our task force has started that ball rolling.
Practical Proposals
As one would expect from multilateral debates, there are divergent views on the best ways forward. However, the Second Charter Review initiative launched by the Global Governance Forum represents an invitation to a much-needed conversation that is evolutionary in scope. Among others, it asks a pivotal question: What is needed to move forward now? Some of the key elements of these proposals include:
- An expanded and more representative UN Security Council that moves beyond an exclusive club of the victors of WWII which, shockingly, have had the right to exempt themselves from the principles and obligations of the Charter through the exercise of the veto. This has weakened the Council’s moral foundation and paralyzed it in the face of great power and other conflicts. Countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America have also long argued, convincingly, for a greater voice in this forum. The proposal is to increase the number of Security Council members from currently 15 to 25: the current permanent five (P5), a new group of five members elected to six-year renewable terms from each of the five UN geographical regions, and a further contingent of 15 members elected to three-year non-renewable terms, with membership by region in proportion to the number of countries in each region among the UN’s 193 members.
- While the General Assembly would continue to represent executive governments on a one-country-one-vote basis, the Second Charter proposes a nascent Parliamentary Assembly that would turn the UN from an organization of states into an organization of states and peoples and thus enhance its representativeness and democratic legitimacy. A bicameral system would allow the UN to establish a closer connection to the world´s peoples, with its institutional capacity building up over time.
- A new Earth System Council consisting of 54 members is proposed. It would bridge a critical gap in environmental governance. The ‘missing pillar’ of planetary health would be incorporated into the Charter for the first time.
- The original UN Charter envisioned a collective security mechanism that should be reviewed against the background of nearly eight decades of the UN’s peacekeeping experiences and the need for rapid reaction capacities to minimize extensive and ongoing civilian harms. Parallel to strengthening such mechanisms, the Second Charter also envisages developing a more robust system of arms control and disarmament. The proposed amendments intend to bolster the UN´s capacity to maintain international peace and security, including through non-consensual collective enforcement means, while at the same time strengthening the democratic and legal legitimacy of these actions.
- A reformed UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is proposed to better coordinate the work of specialized agencies and subsidiary bodies and upgrade its engagement with non-governmental organizations, civil society, and other stakeholders. On several fronts, there is a need to better streamline a very fragmented system to, among others, ensure better use of limited resources. Specifically, ECOSOC will be officially tasked to consolidate and centralize the operational activities of the UN development system, providing policy review and guidance—a function the current Charter does not provide to the Council. The Second Charter also addresses challenges related to overlapping functions between ECOSOC and the General Assembly. It proposes that the UNGA and the Parliamentary Assembly are the main policy-formulation bodies on economic and social issues, so ECOSOC is hierarchically subordinate to them. Nevertheless, ECOSOC would lead action in its specific field as the main deliberative and implementing body, with such responsibilities as fostering policy debate and advocacy on issues related to economic, social, cultural, educational, health, and, as an innovation to the Charter, gender equality.
- To ensure the advancement of international law, the Second Charter suggests that the International Court of Justice be given compulsory jurisdiction, including a review function (akin to that of a constitutional court) for the UN itself.
The current UN Charter allows for a Review Conference
Despite the in-depth and multi-year discussions amongst relevant stakeholders about these and several other proposals, under what legal parameters could they move forward? The current UN Charter offers a concession - Article 109 - to those countries that are concerned about the concentration of power vested in the five permanent members of the Security Council. Thus, Article 109 opens the door to member states to review and amend the Charter in the future. This process can be initiated by a two-thirds vote of the members of the UN General Assembly and a vote of any nine members of the Security Council. That article can and should now be invoked to move this agenda forward. In the face of the multiple global catastrophic risks we face, it is vitally important to start that conversation.
Benefits of a Fundamental UN Reform outweigh its Cost
The task ahead is, no doubt, arduous. However, the costs of effectively governing global challenges will be orders of magnitude smaller than the cost of the consequences of failing to do so. Given not only the difficult security environment, but also urgent needs related to economic risks, climate change, and unregulated technologies, new approaches and mechanisms will also be required with respect to funding the work of the UN system. Various proposals for more reliable sources of financing have been advanced and built on the experience gained over the decades since the UN’s founding.
The Second Charter is work in progress; it is intended to set in motion a process of multistakeholder consultation against the background of the perpetual pull to find a balance between local action, national autonomy, and global wellbeing - for both present and future generations. To date, the UN has helped to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war,” oversaw an extensive decolonization process, set normative standards for human rights, and advanced development globally. But, as Guterres reiterated in September 2024, “a powder keg risks engulfing the world.” He added that “we cannot wait for perfect conditions. We must take the first decisive steps towards updating and reforming international cooperation to make it more networked, fair and inclusive.” The Second Charter initiative offers hope through sober, careful, tempered, and timely proposals for the next stage of global governance.
About the author
Augusto Lopez-Claros is Executive Director of the Global Governance Forum. He has held senior roles in international organizations, including the World Bank where for many years he was the Director of the Global Indicators Group and the World Economic Forum where he was Chief Economist. He has written and lectured extensively in some of the world´s leading universities, think tanks and international organizations. This think piece is based on the Global Governance Forum’s suggestion for a potential Second UN Charter.
You can watch Lopez-Claros’ remarks on the Second UN Charter at SIPA’s inaugural State of the World Conference in October 2024.