A step forward in reforming the UN

We Liberal Democrats do like a challenge. From taking on Labour/Conservatives in entrenched local authorities to being the smaller party in an austerity coalition, we've fought the good fight for liberal values and policies.

Whatever the difficulties in national and local politics, international issues are often more intractable. Conflicts and disputes, whether frozen, like Northern Cyprus, or persistently violent, like Israel/Palestine, linger on for decades. These different problems require different solutions, but I do think that better global governance would help things along.

The UN security council is still dominated by those who won a war that ended nearly seventy years ago. It is still an important institution, but the UN is badly in need of reform if it is maintain its legitimacy and relevance.

Looking back at Libdem policy papers (35, 74, 86) over the years , shows we have been pretty good on this, as summed up by our pre-manifesto -

We will… work to engage with and strengthen multilateral institutions worldwide including global bodies such as the UN and regional groupings.

Such change will not be easy. What we need is an achievable reform that does not directly affect the veto powers of the permanent members of the security council. The United Nations Association (UK) has, with other organisations, launched a campaign to reform the way the UN Secretary-General is chosen (next due in 2016). The process by which he (or possibly she) is chosen has not changed much since the UN was created in 1945. The Security Council propose a shortlist of one and, of course, the five permanent members hold a veto. There are now 193 member states and the need for more transparent and inclusive processes is obvious.

The 1 for 7 billion campaign are arguing that selection process for the next UN Secretary-General should be:

• Focused on producing the best possible candidate
• Held in a timely and structured manner
• Based on formal criteria and qualifications
• Designed to promote gender parity and grounded in best practice on equality and diversity
• Transparent to the wider UN membership
• Transparent to civil society, the general public and media
• Inclusive for all members of the General Assembly and open to input from civil society.

You can sign their petition here.

* Tad Jones is a Liberal Democrat member in Nottingham and a member of ALDES. He writes in a personal capacity.